Hate-Crime Bill Back In Congressby Doreen Brandt
365Gay.com Newscenter
Washington Bureau
Hate-Crime Bill Back In CongressThe Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act (LLEEA), would add real or perceived sexual orientation, gender and disability to federal hate crime laws, allowing the federal government greater leverage in providing assistance for the investigation and prosecution of hate crimes.
The bill has bipartisan support and was introduced in the Senate today by Sens. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., Gordon Smith, R-Ore, and Arlen Specter, R-Penn.
The legislation has 49 co-sponsors in the Senate, and is endorsed by more than 175 law enforcement, civil rights, civic and religious organizations, including: the National Sheriffs' Association, International Association of Chiefs of Police, U.S. Conference of Mayors, Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association and others.
The bill has already passed the Senate in earlier forms on two different occasions - most recently, in June of 2000, as an amendment to the Department of Defense authorization bill, by a Senate vote of 57-42, including 13 Republicans.
In September 2000, the House also passed a motion to instruct in support of the measure, 232-192, with 41 Republicans.
But, each time the bill was passed the amendment was stripped out in conference committee.
"Hate crimes are meant to instill fear and create an atmosphere of intimidation against entire communities. This legislation will help to curtail the scourge of hate violence that is all too frequently directed at gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans. Violence based on discrimination is antithetical to American ideals of freedom and tolerance, and we are very proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with leaders from both sides of the aisle in fighting these insidious crimes," said Human Rights Campaign Political Director Winnie Stachelberg.
Since the Federal Bureau of Investigation began collecting hate crime statistics in 1991, more than 11,000 hate crimes based on sexual orientation have been reported.
The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, a non-profit organization that tracks bias incidents against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people, reported 1,943 incidents for 2001 alone.
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Although similar bills have languished in Congress for many years, the Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act has received bipartisan support as well as the backing of law enforcement officials.
Introduced by senators Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), Gordon Smith (R-Ore.), and Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), the bill would extend federal hate-crimes protections to the characteristics of real or perceived sexual orientation, gender, and disability, thus allowing the federal government greater leverage in providing assistance for the investigation and prosecution of hate crimes."Hate crimes are meant to instill fear and create an atmosphere of intimidation against entire communities," said Winnie Stachelberg, political director for the gay rights group Human Rights Campaign. "This legislation will help to curtail the scourge of hate violence that is all too frequently directed at gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered Americans."
The measure currently has 49 original cosponsors and is endorsed by more than 175 law enforcement, civil rights, civic, and religious organizations. The measure has already passed the Senate in earlier forms on two different occasions--most recently in June 2000, as an amendment to the Department of Defense authorization bill, by a Senate vote of 57-42, with 13 Republicans in support.
In September 2000 the House also passed a motion supporting the measure by a vote of 232-192, with 41 Republicans in support. The legislation also passed the Senate in July 1999, as an amendment to the Commerce, Justice, State appropriations bill. Each time, the amendment was stripped out in conference committee.
Since the FBI began collecting hate-crimes statistics in 1991, more than 11,000 hate crimes based on sexual orientation have been reported. Since 1991, reported hate crimes based on sexual orientation have more than tripled, increasing 7.2% from 2000 to 2001, for a total of 1,393 incidents that year.