Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
1401 New York Avenue, NW
Suite 400
Washington, DC 20005

PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release
Contact: Diane Gross
202-662-8600

September 14, 2000

HOUSE PASSES HISTORIC HATE CRIMES LEGISLATION

Department of Defense Authorization Conference Committee Poses Final Hurdle

Washington D.C. - Yesterday, the United States House of Representatives (House) voted to pass historic hate crimes legislation to expand protections for victims of hate motivated violence. Previously, the United States Senate, in a bipartisan vote (57-42), passed the Hate Crimes Prevention Act, known as the Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act, as part of the Department of Defense Authorization Bill. The House voted in favor (232-192) of the hate crimes legislation by approving a Motion to Instruct the Department of Defense (DOD) Authorization Conference Committee to include the hate crimes language in its final DOD Authorization Bill. The House vote endorses the legislation that the Senate already approved as part of the DOD Authorization Bill.

The House vote now clears the way for the enactment of the hate crimes legislation. As a final hurdle to this legislation becoming the law of the land, the language must be included in the DOD Authorization Bill that is presented to President Clinton for his signature.

While we are tremendously grateful to the bipartisan leadership in the House for passing this motion, we must now work to make sure that the Conference Committee fulfills its mandate and includes this critical legislation in its final bill. We find it tremendously disappointing that in the wake of the final strong bipartisan vote some of the House leadership has indicated that they will not support inclusion of the hate crimes language by the Conferees in the final bill," said Barbara Arnwine, Executive Director of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.

"Passing this historic legislation is a tremendous victory for all Americans who deserve to be free of the hate motivated violence that plagues our nation. Americans should not fear that they will be the targets of racial or other bias related violence when they walk down the streets of our great nation, " she added.

If enacted, this legislation will protect the civil right of all Americans and will assist local and state law enforcement efforts to enforce and prosecute hate crimes by enhancing federal and state cooperation, by removing obstacles to federal involvement, and by providing federal laws to properly address bias motivated crimes in states where the laws are insufficient. The Lawyers' Committee continues to believe that this legislation is a reasonable and fair means to remedy a gap in current federal jurisdiction by making sure that victims of these brutally violent crimes do not fall between the cracks in existing laws.

While the Lawyers' Committee applauds the action by the House, we now call upon the leadership of the House and the Conference Committee to fulfill the clear bipartisan mandate of both the House and the Senate and include this crucial legislation in the final DOD Authorization Bill. If enacted, this law will be a critical step to protecting millions of Americans from the hate and racial violence that is escalating in our society.

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