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Speech Of
Hon. Alcee L. Hastings
Of Florida
In The House Of Representatives
Thursday, May 3, 2007

Mr. Hastings of Florida: Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1592, The Hate Crimes Prevention Act.

This important legislation is about protecting the fundamental rights of the most vulnerable in our society.

The fact is, hate toward people in our country who are deemed different remains copious and persistent.

What is not fact, however, is the campaign of mistruths right-wing extremists with a megaphone have instigated against this bill. They claim, for instance, that passage of this bill will be used to persecute anti-gay churches. To which I say, I don't know of any pastor or minister who would advocate tying a man to a split-rail fence, beating him brutally, and leaving him to die in the cold of the night for no reason other than he was gay.

This legislation addresses long overdue deficiencies in current federal hate crimes law. It extends protections to even more groups of targeted minorities. And it ensures that when states are unwilling or unable to prosecute hate crimes, justice will be served.

Violent acts committed against a member of a targeted minority do not merely beleaguer the individual. They deprave an entire group and society as a whole by promoting a culture of fear among our diverse communities and perpetuating stereotypes and hate. I have hopes that someday such legislation will no longer be necessary. But the reality is that in this day and age it still is. It is evident in the resurgence of organized white supremacist movements such as the KKK over the past year.

Without the passage of this critical legislation, an alarming amount of hate crime perpetrators around the country will continue to escape punishment under federal law. Such as the assailants who shot frequenters of a gay bar in New Bedford, Massachusetts earlier this year. And the four white male assailants who left Bill Ray, a mentally challenged African American, severely and errantly brain damaged. And the assailants of Michael Sandy, a gay man who was beaten, chased into traffic, hit by a car, and then dragged off the road and attacked a second time.

Until the day comes when there is no need for such legislation, we will continue to have a moral obligation to ensure these victims of hate crimes have access to just recourse.