Holder Offers Strong Support For Hate Crimes Legislation
WASHINGTON (Thursday,
June 25, 2009) – Testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee
Thursday, Attorney General Eric Holder expressed the administration’s
strong support for the enactment of the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes
Prevention Act, legislation that would make needed changes to the
federal hate crime law.
Holder returned to
the Senate Judiciary Committee just one week after appearing for a
Department of Justice oversight hearing. Committee Chairman
Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), responding to requests from Committee
Republicans, moved swiftly to schedule the Thursday hearing on the need
for legislation. The bipartisan Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes
Prevention Act was introduced on April 28 by former Committee Chairman
Senator Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.). More than 40 Senators are
cosponsors of the legislation. The House of Representatives
adopted a similar measure in April.
At a Department of
Justice
oversight hearing on June 17, Judiciary Committee Ranking Member
Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) requested that the Committee hold a hearing on
the legislation. Hate crime legislation has been pending in
Congress for more than a decade.
An archived webcast
will be available later today.
Witness testimony and member statements are available online.
The full text of
Leahy’s opening remarks follows.
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Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.),
Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee,
Hearing On “The Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act Of 2009”
June 25, 2009
Today, the Senate
Judiciary Committee addresses the serious and growing problem of hate
crimes. Recent events have made clear that these vicious crimes
are a continuing problem. The Senate has before it bipartisan
legislation that would help law enforcement respond to this problem, and
this legislation has stalled for far too long. The time to act is
now.
The Matthew Shepard
Hate Crimes Prevention Act
has been pending in the Senate for more than a decade. We have
held previous hearings on this bill and the House has held many hearings
on it. Both the House and Senate have voted for this bill, again
and again. Nonetheless, when the Ranking Rebublican Member
requested a hearing on this legislation at last week’s oversight
hearing, I proceeded expeditiously to accommodate his request. I
thank, in particular, the Attorney General for his willingness to return
to the Committee just days after our oversight hearing in order to
testify on this important legislative priority.
Two weeks ago, just
blocks away from this hearing room a man entered the National Holocaust
Memorial Museum and shot and killed Stephen T. Johns, a security guard.
The cowardly action of this white supremacist resulted in the death of
a 39-year-old husband and the father of an 11-year-old son. This
tragic murder is just the latest in an alarming string of hate crimes.
No doubt the
courageous actions of officer Johns and his fellow guards saved dozens
of lives. I regret that as a private security guard protecting a Federal
facility he was without a bulletproof vest, which may have saved his
life.
The facts set out in
several recent reports show how hate crimes and hate groups are growing
nationwide. Just last week, the Leadership Conference for Civil
Rights released a report on hate crimes that found that “the number of
hate crimes reported has consistently ranged around 7,500 or more
annually, or nearly one every hour of the day.” Similarly,
a recent report from the Southern Poverty Law Center found that hate
groups have increased by 50 percent since 2000, from 602 hate groups in
2000, to 926 in 2008. Last Saturday 2,000 mourners filled the
Ebenezer AME Church and heard Reverend John McCoy say: “The hope of the
Holocaust museum was that the world would never again allow such crimes
against humanity. Yet Officer Johns is another victim… .” As
mourners of many faiths and backgrounds listened, Reverend Grainger
Browning, Jr. said “the same hate that created slavery was the same hate
that caused the Holocaust.”
The sight of stray
bullet holes covering the door of the National Holocaust Museum was a
jarring reminder right here in Washington that our country must do more.
The time to act against violence motivated by bias and by hatred is now.
From the horrific
slayings of Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. during the 1990s to the
recent tragic murder of Louis Ramirez last year, it has long been clear
that we must do more to protect all Americans from these crimes.
The answer to hate and bigotry has to ultimately be found in increased
respect and tolerance for all our citizens. In the meantime,
strengthening our Federal hate crimes legislation to give law
enforcement the tools they need is a necessary step.
I commend Senator
Kennedy for his leadership in this effort over many years. I am
proud to be a cosponsor of the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention
Act of 2009. This bipartisan legislation improves existing law
by making it easier for Federal authorities to
investigate and prosecute crimes of racial or religious violence.
It focuses the attention and resources of the Federal Government on the
problem of crimes committed against people because of their sexual
orientation, gender, gender identity, or disability, which is a
long-overdue protection. The bill also provides assistance
and resources to state, local, and tribal law enforcement to address
hate crimes.
Last Congress, this
legislation was attached to the Department of Defense Authorization bill
with the bipartisan support of 60 Senators. I was
disappointed that the hate crime provision was taken out of that bill at
conference, but I hope that Senators on both sides of the aisle can work
together this year and help us to finally enact this bipartisan civil
rights measure into law.
This year’s Senate
bill makes some modest changes requested by federal law enforcement to
ensure that the hate crimes laws work as effectively as possible.
We have worked closely with the Justice Department to ensure that we are
advancing a bill that is fair, constitutional, and effective in cracking
down on brutal acts of hate-based violence.
This bill would
strengthen Federal jurisdiction over hate crimes to support, but not to
substitute for, State and local law enforcement, which I appreciate as a
former State prosecutor. It strengthens State and local law
enforcement and has received strong support from State and local law
enforcement organizations across the country.
This legislation
would combat acts of violence motivated by hatred and bigotry, but it
does not target pure speech, however offensive or disagreeable, and it
certainly does not target religious speech. This bill was
carefully crafted to respect constitutional limits and differences of
opinion.
This week we
commemorate the 45th anniversary of perhaps the most famous
hate crime in recent memory, the day three civil rights workers in
Mississippi paid the ultimate price in the struggle to secure civil
rights and expand our democracy for all Americans. On June 21,
1964, these three young men were abducted, brutally beaten, and shot to
death by Ku Klux Klansmen for simply attempting to register
African-Americans voters. As we pay tribute to these courageous
men, and to too many more recent victims of hate, Congress has an
opportunity to send an important message. By passing this hate
crimes legislation, we can act to prevent future hate crimes and civil
rights abuses.
I welcome back our
Attorney General and thank him for appearing today. We also
welcome Janet Langhart Cohen, the wife of former Secretary of Defense,
former Senator and former member of this Committee, William Cohen.
Her husband was at the Holocaust Museum at the time of the shooting and
knew Stephen Johns, the security guard who was killed. Ms.
Langhart is well-respected by Republicans and Democrats alike, as are
our other witnesses, and I look forward to hearing from her, Michael
Lieberman of the Anti-Defamation League, Dr. Mark Achtemeier and our
other witnesses today.
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