Hate crimes

Sep 27, 2007 -- Chapel Hill, North Carolina – Senator John Edwards released the following statement following the U.S. Senate's vote to support new federal hate crime legislation:

"Every American deserves the right to live without fear of physical violence -- law enforcement should have all the resources and tools it needs to protect every community in America. I have long supported strengthening our hate crimes laws to show that Americans will not tolerate or condone hateful violence of any kind.    » read more »

September 28, 2007 -- WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) today spoke on the Senate floor in favor of the Kennedy-Smith hate crimes prevention amendment to the Department of Defense authorization bill. The amendment would give local, state and federal governments broader authority and resources to investigate and prosecute hate crimes based on race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, disability or gender identity.    » read more »

September 27, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) made the following statement on the passage of the Matthew Shepard Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which was offered as an amendment to National Defense Authorization Act. Obama is an original cosponsor of the legislation, which expands federal law to investigate and prosecute hate crimes to include crimes perpetrated because of sexual orientation, gender, gender identity and disability.    » read more »

Aug 7, 2007 -- Chapel Hill, North Carolina - Senator John Edwards released the following statement in response to President Bush’s threat to veto pending federal hate crime legislation.

“Every American is entitled to live in dignity without fear of violence. No community should feel that they can be targeted with impunity. But until law enforcement has the tools to aggressively investigate and prosecute all hate crimes, some Americans will doubt that the government is on their side. President Bush’s threat to veto hate crime legislation sends just that message.    » read more »

May 8, 2007 -- BOSTON – Yesterday, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley's Office obtained a civil rights injunction against two South Boston men accused of a racially-motivated attack on three men of Moroccan descent. The order, granted by Suffolk Superior Court Judge Thomas Connolly, prohibits Kenneth Rooney, age 27, and Neil Woodworth, also age 27, from threatening, intimidating or coercing the victims or anyone else in the Commonwealth on the basis of actual or perceived race, ethnicity or national origin.    » read more »

May 3, 2007 -- Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi spoke on the House floor this afternoon in support of the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which passed by a vote of 237 to 180. Below are her remarks:

“Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.    » read more »

May 3, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, D.C—Today, Senator Edward M. Kennedy released the following statement in response to the House of Representatives passage of the Matthew Shepard hate crimes legislation.    » read more »

May 3, 2007 -- Today the United States Congress overwhelmingly passed the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act (LLEHCPA) by a margin of 237-180. Although one in six hate crimes are related to sexual orientation, today's federal laws are missing protections for Americans from crimes based on sexual orientation or gender identity.    » read more »

April 18, 2007 -- Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff has obtained the support of 26 other attorneys general in favor of immediate passage of federal hate crimes legislation. A letter co-authored by Shurtleff and Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan cites the need to “remove unnecessary jurisdictional barriers to permit the U.S. Department of Justice to prosecute violent acts motivated by bias and hate,” and urges congress to act immediately in the interest of “protecting our citizens’ fundamental civil rights.” The letter was delivered to the leadership of the U.S.    » read more »