Congresswoman Baldwin's Statement on the Passage of Hate Crimes Legislation

Congresswoman Baldwin's Statement on the Passage of Hate Crimes Legislation
September 14, 2005

"Today's House vote in favor of federal hate crimes prevention legislation marked real progress in the struggle for equal rights for all Americans. Hate crimes are different than other violent crimes because they seek to instill fear and terror throughout a whole community-be it burning a cross in someone's yard, the burning of a synagogue, or a rash of physical assaults near a gay community center.

All Americans, regardless of their race, sex, gender identity, disability or sexual orientation, have a right to feel safe in their communities. Gays and lesbians should not have to live in fear anywhere in the United States of America.

Today's vote is significant both substantively and symbolically, reminding us, as Dr. Martin Luther King did, that, 'the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.'"

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