National Defense Authorization Act For Fiscal Year 2010
Floor Speech
NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2010 -- (Senate - July 16, 2009)
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AMENDMENT NO. 1511
Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, in every corner of our country, communities have been working to end hate crimes. Despite the great gains in equality and civil rights throughout the last century, too many Americans today are still subjected to discrimination, violence, and even death because of who they are. That is why I have joined with many of my colleagues as a cosponsor of the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act. This is a commonsense, bipartisan bill that will stand up for the victims of hate crimes and their families.
I am glad it has been offered as an amendment and that we will now have a chance to act on it this week. It takes only a quick glance at a newspaper to see places around the world where people are regularly attacked because of their religion or the color of their skin or their sexual orientation. It is important to remember that even though we in America have made great strides in reducing discrimination, there is still plenty of work to be done. I am proud we are working toward ending these crimes once and for all in the memory of Matthew Shepard.
Matthew, as many of my colleagues have stated, was a 21-year-old college student who was murdered because of his sexual orientation. That crime was not prosecuted as a hate crime because there was no applicable State or Federal hate crimes law that covered sexual orientation. Just this year we were all saddened by a horrific shooting of a security guard at the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC, a few blocks away.
But those are only two examples. And not all of these terrible hate crimes make headlines. In 2007, the last year for which the FBI has statistics, there were over 9,000 hate crime offenses. The thousands of people who have been victimized by hate crimes each receive inadequate protection under the law, and that is simply unconscionable. That is why this amendment we are considering this afternoon is long overdue.
This amendment would strengthen our existing laws by providing the Justice Department with additional tools to investigate and prosecute crimes that were committed based on a victim's race, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability.
Communities across the country have been working to respond to hate crimes, and State and local law enforcement continues to bear the responsibility for prosecuting the bulk of these crimes. This is not a Federal takeover. However, States and localities would greatly benefit from the help the Federal Government can provide. If a State or local community is unable to prosecute a hate crime, this amendment would mean the Federal Government could lend a hand.
This amendment would provide a number of other tools to help end hate crimes. It would provide States and local governments with grants designed for hate crime prevention. It would expand data collection about hate crimes so that law enforcement will have more information to help prevent prejudicial crimes committed against women. It would expand the legal definition of what a hate crime is, allowing for stronger prosecution and more cases for a violent crime that is clearly motivated by hatred.
In that way, this amendment would put into law what we already know, that crimes are different when they are motivated by discrimination. Burning down a building is a horrible crime. But that crime takes on a new character when that building is a church or a synagogue or a mosque.
It is wrong when one person attacks another person on the street, for sure. But it has a different meaning when violence occurs because the victim is a different race, or religion, or sexual orientation.
We cannot stand idly by while Americans are subjected to discrimination, violence, and even death, simply because of who they are. Passage of this amendment would be another major victory for equal rights in our country.
I come to the floor this afternoon simply to urge our colleagues to support this amendment when it comes to a vote later this afternoon.
I yield the floor.
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