Conyers Applauds Enactment of Hate Crimes Prevention Act

House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) today applauded the enactment of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.  This measure was introduced by Chairman Conyers and, subsequent to its passage in the House, was included in the National Defense Authorization Act which the president signed today.

"For ten years I have been fighting to ensure that every community shares equally in protection from violent attack," said Conyers.  "Hate crimes are particularly deplorable because, not only do they harm the victim, they sow poison and fear in entire communities.  When an African-American, a Muslim, a Latino, a gay man, or a woman in a wheelchair is violently attacked simply because of those characteristics, the attack sends a message to everyone in those communities to live in fear.  I commend President Obama for helping, at long last, to extend protection to these targeted communities." 

Despite the pervasiveness of the problem, current law limits federal jurisdiction over hate crimes to incidents against protected classes that occur only during the exercise of federally protected activities, such as voting.  Further, the statutes do not permit federal involvement in a range of cases where crimes are motivated by bias against the victim’s perceived sexual orientation, gender, disability or gender identity. This loophole is particularly significant given the fact that four states have no hate crime laws on the books, and another 21 states have extremely weak hate crimes laws.

"Contrary to what some claim, the number of hate crimes each year demonstrate that federal action is crucial to bringing these offenses under control.  Since 1991, the FBI has documented over 118,000 hate crimes.  In the year 2007,  the most current data available, the FBI compiled reports from law enforcement agencies across the country identifying 7,624 bias-motivated criminal incidents that were directed against an individual because of their personal characteristics.  These offenses range from assaults to murder.  This legislation will make it easier for federal authorities to prosecute bias crimes by loosening the unduly rigid jurisdictional requirements under federal law, in the same manner as the Church Arson Prevention Act.  The bill prohibits violent attacks, but does prohibit any form of speech. It provides explicit protection for free speech and religious expression."

The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act was endorsed by over 300 law enforcement, religious, civil rights, disability and other organizations.