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Related diary: Breaking: Fed Hate Crimes bill in jeopardy; contact your Senator now
For those not aware, there was a Senate hearing on The Matthew Shapard Act — proposed federal hate crime legislation that includes sexual orientation and gender identity.
Attached is the written statement that Attorney General Eric Holder made for today’s hearing. Selecting the image of the front page of the statement will take you to a PDF of the full statement — the text below is from the statement’s overview.
OVERVIEWThe Department’s position on this legislation is detailed in a views letter that has been submitted in advance of this hearing. My testimony today will touch on some but not all of the issues discussed in that letter.
Hate crimes statistics reported to the FBI by State and local law enforcement agencies demonstrate that we have a significant hate crimes problem in this country. Over the past decade, approximately half of the hate crime incidents reported in the United States were racially motivated. However, many other victim classes are targeted for hate crimes. For example, during the last decade, religiously motivated incidents have generally accounted for the second highest number of hate crime incidents, followed closely by sexual orientation bias incidents. Moreover, recent numbers suggest that hate crimes against individuals of Hispanic national origin have increased four years in a row.* The Federal government has a strong interest in protecting people from violent crimes motivated by such bias and bigotry.
Although we at the Federal level are strongly committed to hate crimes enforcement, we recognize that most such crimes in the United States are investigated and prosecuted by other levels of government. The pending legislation would assist State, local, and tribal jurisdictions by providing funds and technical assistance to investigate and prosecute hate crimes. We welcome the bill’s critical support of hate crimes enforcement efforts by State, local, and tribal authorities because all levels of law enforcement must have the tools they need to investigate and prosecute those who engage in bias-motivated violence.
This legislation also would create a new Federal criminal hate crimes statute, 18 U.S.C. § 249. Section 249(a)(1) would simplify the jurisdictional predicate for prosecuting violent acts undertaken because of the actual or perceived race, color, religion, or national origin of any person, by eliminating the requirement in current law that such hate crimes also be motivated by the victim’s participation in one of six enumerated federally protected activities. See 18 U.S.C. § 245. This is a welcome change. The federally-protected activity requirement has no connection to the seriousness of the crime and is not constitutionally necessary.
I am particularly pleased that Section 249(a)(2) would for the first time allow for Federal prosecution of violence undertaken because of the actual or perceived gender, disability, sexual orientation or gender identity of any person. During the decade from 1998 to 2007, there were 12,372 hate crime incidents involving violence based on sexual orientation. These crimes fell entirely outside the scope of current Federal jurisdiction. The Department therefore welcomes the expanded coverage of section 249, which would allow us to prosecute and deter violent acts of this sort more effectively.
The remainder of my testimony will address the following issues: (1) federalism and comity; (2) the need for stronger Federal hate crime legislation; (3) constitutionality of the proposed bill; and (4) specific comments on three issues of particular importance to the Department, namely, the bill’s rule of construction, certification provision, and statute of limitations.
* See Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Report, Hate Crime Statistics,
1997-2007 (reports available at: http://www.fbi.gov/hq/cid/civilrights/hate.htm and
http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/hc2007/incidents.htm).
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It’s really generous of Holderto argue that people his own department says are like child rapists and and incest-committers should be protected from hate crimes. Now how about it, Eric? How about amending your goddamn brief to eliminate the kind of language that leads to hate crimes?
P.S. On a related note, CNN has been reporting all afternoon that the bill covers sexual orientation and gender, not gender identity or expression.
I was at the hearing…and gender indentity and expression were covered multiple times throughout the hearing. This is not a done deal folks. The bigots and homophobes that apparently still know how to use a phone, write letters, e-mail and fax are being heard. They don’t speak for me, and don’t let them speak for you. Contact your Senator, and in particular, Senator Coburn (OK), Senator Sessions (Alabama) and Senator Hatch (Utah). All will be roadblocks ahead. We have to work together people. I have said over and over, writing, calling, e-mailing, faxing….all make a difference. You can make that difference!!!
Child-rapists?Don’t tell me you think 16-year olds are children and raped if they get married.
Virtually every legal analyst, gay or straight, who has parsed the DOMA briefhas interpreted it that way. Buy a clue.
Now, that’s a really big lie.
Any links?
*Sigh* This so so damn tediousLet me try to enlighten you (if such a thing is possible): The cases cited in the brief involved young girls who are forced against their will into marriages with older men. You may not consider that those kids are being raped, but I do. (I hope the concept of spousal rape isn’t unknown to you.) More to the point, so does the law–including the Obama DOJ, which cites those cases as being parallel to gay marriage.
I take it you haven’t bothered to read the DOMA brief or any of the (numerous) analyses of it available online. Arguing from ignorance–and downgrading people who do otherwise–may be acceptable practice in Old Europe, but it’s not likely to win you any friends here.
Oi!Less of the insults to Europeans, please.
Box Turtle Bulletin has a review of the brief which says it’s not about paedophilia. Quite interesting reading, actually.
TRiG.