Thanks, Senator Leahy and President Obama
by
amfh
10/28/2009, 3:56 PM #
Dear ,
In July, I asked you to urge my congressional
colleagues to pass the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act,
to tackle the scourge of hate crime in America. Thanks to the efforts of
more than 10,000 LeahyForVermont.com activists, this long-overdue anti-hate
crime legislation is finally law.
Hate crimes are an
unacceptable reality in America. A hate crime occurs somewhere in America
every hour, and sadly the number of hate groups has grown dramatically
in recent years. Many of these crimes are directed toward gay and transgender
Americans, who were previously unprotected by any federal anti-hate crime
statute.
That's why I introduced the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes
Prevention Act to strengthen federal anti-hate crime laws to cover crimes
motivated by gender, disability status, or sexual
orientation.
Last week the Senate passed it as an amendment to
the Defense Authorization Act, and I was proud to visit the White House
to witness President Obama signing it into law earlier
today.
Our community of activists has once again helped to
affirm the principle of equality and secure the rights of all Americans to live
free from fear. Working together, we have enacted what Human Rights Campaign
President Joe Solmonese has called "the first major piece of civil rights
legislation for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people."
The
Matthew Shepard Hate Crime Prevention Act bears the name of a gay
college student from Wyoming who was brutally tortured and murdered by two
attackers in 1998. Its passage also honors the memory of Senator Ted Kennedy,
who fought tirelessly for more than a decade to expand federal anti-hate crime
protections to include such crimes.
This historic anti-hate crime law
will:
-
Allow federal authorities to more easily
investigate and prosecute crimes motivated by race, color, or beliefs;
-
Update the law to include crimes motivated by
disability status, gender, or sexual orientation; and
-
Strengthen federal support for state and local law
enforcement agencies in the investigation and prosecution of hate-motivated
violence.
I cannot thank the LeahyForVermont.com
community enough for coming together to show that violence against members of
any group because of who they are will not be tolerated in our great
country.
Sincerely,
Patrick Leahy
U.S. Senator
