Statement Of Sen. Patrick Leahy,
Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee,
On Senate Amendment #3035
The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act Of 2007
September 27, 2007 

Today the Senate is considering an amendment to the Department of Defense bill to address crimes that terrorize entire communities.  Violent crimes motivated by prejudice and hate are tragedies that haunt American history.  From the lynchings that plagued race relations for more than a century to the well-publicized slayings of Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr., in the 1990s, this is a story we have heard too often in this country.  Unfortunately, in my home state of Vermont, there have been two recent attacks that appear to have been motivated by the victims’ religion or sexual orientation.  A well-respected state representative in the Vermont Legislature has not been immune to threats of violence based solely on his sexual orientation.     

I am proud to once again be a cosponsor of this legislation.  I hope that this time Congress will have the courage to pass it.  Six years ago, I made this bill one of the first major bills to move through the Judiciary Committee after I became Chairman.  It passed the Senate in the 106^th Congress and again in the 108^th Congress, but Republicans in the House blocked this important bill each time.  In the Democratically led House of Representatives, the companion bill this year passed by a wide bipartisan margin.  So I am hopeful that this time, Democrats and Republicans in the Senate will join together finally to enact this civil rights measure into law. 

This hate crimes legislation improves current law by making it easier for federal authorities to investigate and prosecute crimes based on race, color, religion, and national origin.  Victims will no longer have to be engaged in a narrow range of activities, such as serving as a juror, to be protected under federal law.  This bill also focuses the attention and resources of the federal government on the problem of hate crimes committed against people because of their sexual orientation, gender, or disability, which is an important and long-overdue expansion of protection.  Finally, this bill provides assistance and resources to state, local, and tribal law enforcement to address hate crimes.

The crimes targeted in this bill are particularly pernicious crimes that affect more than just their victims and their victims= families B they inspire fear in those who have no connection to the victim other than a shared characteristic such as race or sexual orientation.  When James Byrd, Jr., was dragged behind a pickup truck and killed by bigots in Texas in 1998 for no reason other than his race, many African Americans throughout our Nation surely felt diminished as citizens.  When Matthew Shepard was brutally murdered in Wyoming the same year because of his sexual orientation, many in the gay and lesbian community felt less safe on our streets and in their homes.  These crimes promote fear and insecurity that are distinct from the reactions to other crimes, and we need to take action to enhance their prosecution.  

All Americans have the right to live, travel and gather where they choose.  In the past we have responded as a Nation to deter and to punish violent denials of civil rights.  We have enacted federal laws to protect the civil rights of all of our citizens for nearly 150 years.  The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act continues that great and honorable tradition. 

This bill will strengthen federal jurisdiction over hate crimes as a back-up, but not a substitute, for state and local law enforcement.  States will still bear primary responsibility for prosecuting most hate crimes, which is important to me as a former state prosecutor.  In a sign that this legislation respects the proper balance between federal and local authority, it has received strong bipartisan support from state and local law enforcement organizations across the country.   

Moreover, this bill accomplishes a critically important goal B protecting all of our citizens B without compromising our constitutional responsibilities.  It is a tool for combating acts and threats of violence motivated by hatred and bigotry.  But it does not target pure speech, however offensive or disagreeable.  The Constitution does not permit us in Congress to prohibit the expression of an idea simply because we disagree with it.  As Justice Holmes wrote, the Constitution protects not just freedom for the thought and expression we agree with, but freedom for the thought that we hate.  I am devoted to that principle, and I am confident that this bill does not contradict it.   

We have been trying for years to pass the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act.  It is appropriate to attach this important legislation to the pending Department of Defense Authorization Bill, as we have done twice in recent memory, because this is a pressing issue.  I hope that we will not see another Republican-led filibuster on what should be a bipartisan measure.