Smith Reintroduces Bill to Expand Federal Law to Include Gender, Sexual Orientation, and Disability
Washington, DC – Today, Senators Gordon Smith (R-OR) and Edward Kennedy (D-MA) reintroduced legislation that will extend existing federal hate crimes laws to include gender, disability, and sexual orientation. The Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act of 2003 is a bipartisan bill with 48 cosponsors.
"A government's first duty is to protect and defend its citizens. Our laws should do that by reflecting our highest values," said Smith. "Over the past several years, Americans have been listening with their hearts, not just their ears, and they are ready for a hate crimes bill. I am confident that Congress will pass legislation this year so that the potential victims of hate crimes know that the federal government is on their side."
Since 1969, 18 U.S.C. §245 has permitted federal prosecution of hate crimes motivated by race, religion, national origin, or color, if the victim was engaging in one of six "federally protected" activities. It has become clear that the statute needs to be amended. To this end, Senators Kennedy and Smith introduced the Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act. The legislation would broaden federal jurisdiction to include hate crimes that cause death or bodily injury and add sexual orientation, gender, and disability to the covered categories of hate crimes.
"This bill sends a signal that violence of any kind is unacceptable. The Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act is now a symbol that can become substance," said Smith. "The law is a teacher and we should teach our fellow citizens that all crime is hateful. But we can also teach that some crime is so odious that an extra measure of protection is demanded by us, so that it will never again be repeated among us. By changing this law we can change hearts and minds as well."
Senator Smith first sponsored the bill with Senator Kennedy in 1999 and again in 2001. It was also introduced as an amendment to legislation in both 1999 and 2000.
