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Urgent!!
- National Hate Crimes Prevention Call In Day September
7
On
June 20, 2000, in an historic bipartisan vote, the Senate
passed a hate crimes prevention amendment to the FY01 Department
of Defense (DOD) Authorization bill (S 2549), sponsored
by Sens. Gordon Smith (R-OR) and Edward Kennedy (D-MA).
That amendment was an updated version of the Hate Crimes
Prevention Act (HR 1082), which was originally introduced
in the House in 1999, and is not included in the House version
of the FY01 Department of Defense Authorization bill (HR
4205). In order for the hate crimes amendment to become
law, the House must agree to include it in the final DOD
Authorization bill.
We
urgently request that all of those concerned with seeing
this crucial anti-bias law enacted and protecting the civil
rights of all Americans contact their Representative on
September 7 and urge their support for inclusion of the
hate crimes amendment in the final DOD Authorization bill.
Demand
that passing the hate crimes amendment be an absolute priority
before the end of this Congress. House members needs to
know that you care deeply about bias-motivated violence
and will not tolerate their failure to enact this critical
legislation before they adjourn.
What
is Needed?:
Contact your member of Congress tell them it is imperative
to include the hate crimes amendment in the final DOD Authorization
bill. It is critical that the 106th Congress
pass hate crimes prevention legislation so that every American
can live in an environment free of the terror brought on
by hate violence.
Capitol
Hill Switchboard 202-224-3121 or locate at their direct
number at http://thomas.loc.gov
Important
Points:
- State
and local authorities currently investigate and prosecute
the majority of hate crime cases and will continue to
do so. While many states have hate crimes statutes, they
vary considerably in their coverage and the authority
they give state law enforcement to act.
- The
federal government must have jurisdiction to address those
bias-motivated crimes in states which the law is inadequate
or where state authorities fail to act. This legislation
only provides the necessary backstop to state and local
enforcement.
FOR
MORE INFORMATION CONTACT DIANE GROSS AT 202-662-8600 or
dgross@lawyerscomm.org
For up-to-the-minute information about legislative status,
go to www.unitedagainsthate.org.
The
Lawyers' Committee is a coalition partner in the UnitedAgainstHate.org
campaign
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