Congressman Cohen Votes for Hate Crimes Legislation

I was proud to vote in favor of the hate crimes legislation this afternoon. This important, bipartisan bill focuses on providing new resources to help state and local law enforcement agencies prevent and prosecute hate crimes, and closes the gaps in current federal hate crimes laws.

For more than four decades, Americans have had protections from hate crimes through a federal hate crimes statute. This bill is focused on giving state and local law enforcement the tools and resources they need to prevent and prosecute hate crimes. Furthermore, H.R. 1913 also extends protections to more Americans. The current federal hate crimes law authorizes federal aid in cases of hate crimes committed because of a person’s race, color, religion, or national origin. This bill closes gaps in federal law to also help combat hate crimes committed because of a person’s gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability.

There has been a federal hate crimes law since 1968 because Americans recognize that bias-motivated crimes of violence harm all of society, in addition to the crime victim. Americans understand that hate crimes have no place in America. All Americans have a right to feel safe in their community. We all remember the brutal murders of Matthew Shepard in Wyoming and James Byrd in Texas because we know that these bias-motivated murders impacted us all. Yet, hate crimes continue to be persistent: More than 118,000 hate crimes have been documented by the FBI since 1991. In 2007 alone, there were 7,624 reported hate crimes.

The bill does not limit First Amendment rights of free speech and religious expression. The bill only applies to bias-motivated crimes of violence and does not impinge freedom of speech or religious expression in any way. Some churches have stated that with passage of this bill, ministers may be arrested for speech and words said in the pulpit. This is false. This bill is about violent crime. It is not about and does not prohibit thought, speech or expression protected by the First Amendment.

The hate crimes prevention bill is supported by more than 300 organizations, including the International Association of Chiefs of Police, National Sheriffs’ Association, Police Executive Research Forum, Police Foundation, National District Attorneys Association, NAACP, Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, Anti-Defamation League, Human Rights Campaign, Paralyzed Veterans of America, Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities, American Association of People with Disabilities, People for the American Way, Presbyterian Church (USA), United Methodist Church, United Church of Christ – Justice and Witness Ministries, American Jewish Committee, American Jewish Conference, U.S. Conference of Mayors, and American Association of University Women.

“This week, the House of Representatives is expected to consider H.R. 1913, the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009,” said President Obama on Tuesday. “I urge members on both sides of the aisle to act on this important civil rights issue by passing this legislation to protect all of our citizens from violent acts of intolerance – legislation that will enhance civil rights protections, while also protecting our freedom of speech and association. I also urge the Senate to work with my Administration to finalize this bill and to take swift action.”

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