[Smurf-316]

Congress drops hate crime bill covering attacks on gays



WASHINGTON (AP) -- Congress has dropped legislation that would have expanded hate crime laws to include attacks on gays after it became clear the measure wouldn't pass the House, aides said Thursday.
Legislation expanding hate crime laws to attacks on gays died in the House Thursday.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Edward Kennedy, was widely supported by Democrats and even some moderate Senate Republicans. But because it was attached to a major defense policy bill that would have authorized more money for the Iraq war, many anti-war Democrats said they would oppose it.
"We don't have the votes," said one House Democratic aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity because conference negotiations on the defense bill were ongoing. "We're about 40 votes short, not four or six."

The development is a blow to civil rights groups which say that broadening federal laws are necessary to address a rise in crimes motivated by hate based upon a person's sexual orientation or gender identity.
The military bill is "the last clear chance this year for Congress to make a meaningful effort to stop hate crime violence," said Wade Henderson, president of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights.

In a joint statement issued Thursday, Kennedy and Sen. Carl Levin, D-Michigan, said they were disappointed the House refused to attempt a vote on the legislative package, even if it would have failed. Levin, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, oversees the defense bill.
"At a time when our ideals are under attack by terrorists in other lands, it is more important than ever to demonstrate that we practice what we preach, and that we are doing all we can to root out the bigotry and prejudice in our own country that leads to similar violence here at home," the senators said.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, said she was "strongly committed" to the bill and will continue to work to send it to President Bush. But, she added, "it is clear that attaching the language to the (Defense Department) authorization bill would not create a successful outcome in the House."
Under current federal law, hate crimes include acts of violence against individuals on the basis of race, religion, color or national origin. Federal prosecutors have jurisdiction only if the victim is engaged in a specific federally protected activity such as voting.

Kennedy's bill would have extended the category to include sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or disability. It also would give federal authorities greater leeway to participate in hate crime investigations, and allow them to step in if local authorities were unwilling or unable to act.
The measure also would have provided $10 million over the next two years to help local law enforcement officials cover the cost of hate crime prosecutions.
The bill is named for Matthew Shepard, a gay college freshman who died after he was beaten into a coma in 1998 in Laramie, Wyoming.
The Senate voted 60-39 in September to attach the bill as amendment to the 2008 defense authorization bill. Nine Republicans broke ranks and sided with Democrats in support of the measure.
The House did not include similar provisions in its version of the defense bill, which it passed in May by a 397-27 vote.

While Democratic leaders said they supported the bill, the bundled package posed too high a hurdle. A substantial number of liberal House members routinely vote against the annual defense bill because of the billions it authorizes in combat operations and for programs such as missile defense.
At the same time, some conservative Democrats and Republicans said they would oppose the legislation if the hate crimes provisions were attached -- either because they don't think hate crimes laws should be changed or because they don't think the issue should be tied to a bill for the troops.

In a private meeting on Wednesday, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Maryland, and House Democratic Whip James Clyburn, D-South Carolina, told Sen. Carl Levin, D-Michigan, that if the Senate continued to insist on the hate crimes provisions, the defense legislation would fail.

[WiseOne]

I don't think there should be ANY such thing as a gay hate crime, racial hate crime, or anything else. We should ALL be equal under the law no matter who did what to whom. ALL hate crimes are just that...hate crimes, not gay, racist, or other...these type of laws just keep discrimination alive and well.

[TheKing]

I agree Wiseone. I these laws were enforced and prosecuted equally I would not have a problem with it, but they are not.

Liberals and DIMocrats have a terrible habit of ignoring the Constitution when it's convienent for them.

I'm happy Congress has stood up for what is right. We should not allow this racist legislation to expand any further in this country.

[Smurf-316]

Originally Posted by WiseOne

I don't think there should be ANY such thing as a gay hate crime, racial hate crime, or anything else. We should ALL be equal under the law no matter who did what to whom. ALL hate crimes are just that...hate crimes, not gay, racist, or other...these type of laws just keep discrimination alive and well.

Well spoken.
these laws are unfair and one sided in most cases. there are already laws on the books to cover these crimes and i see no need for them to be expanded.

[BIGJ]

All of the post above are memebers of the "Good ole boys" network. I support Hate Crime laws to protect the minorities in this country.


I guess the Good ole boys above forgot about the jurys and courts who sentence some people with harsh sentences then others over a same crime. Wiseone, you keep on stating this equal prtection of the law but I never hear you talk about why some groups of people are having harsher sentences than others. You and others will only talk about it as a knee jerk reaction.

[dsolo802]

Originally Posted by BIGJ

All of the post above are memebers of the "Good ole boys" network. I support Hate Crime laws to protect the minorities in this country.


I guess the Good ole boys above forgot about the jurys and courts who sentence some people with harsh sentences then others over a same crime. Wiseone, you keep on stating this equal prtection of the law but I never hear you talk about why some groups of people are having harsher sentences than others. You and others will only talk about it as a knee jerk reaction.

I can explain this. Allow me to digress for a moment to Racketeering laws because there is an important parallel between Hate crime and Racketeering crime I'd like to draw.

Racketeering laws essentially mete out extra harsh punishment for acts that are already criminal under State and Federal law. Why? Because of the manner in which racketeering crimes are committed. When the same crime is produced through criminal "machinery" - that is, you turn the crank on the machine and extortionate acts, or drug dealing or prostitution is produced - that's fundamentally different from the simple one-offs.

With simple one offs, you incarcerate the perpetrator and the crime stops. With Racketeering, even when you incarcerate the current perpetrator, the racketeering machinery is such that he or she can be easily replaced - interchangeable criminal parts, and the criminal enterprise gets to keep the ill-gotten gains. In other words, even when law enforcement succeeds in nabbing and convicting one Racketeer, without Racketeering laws the criminal enterprise continues without as much as a hiccup.

When an individual is successfully prosecuted under Racketeering laws, not only are the perpetrators tossed in Jail, but the government can seize all ill-gotten gains and every asset that was used in the criminal operation that produced those ill-gotten gains can be seized as well. It is, in summary, a much more powerful government weapon against crime.

Now the parallel . . .

Like Racketeering crimes, hate crimes are considered to pose a far greater threat to society. A hate crime is basically about a crime committed out of a mob mentality, pitting one class or race or religion or other group against another. Class based hatred, like our Racketeering machine, also produces crime after crime against the targeted group.

In both cases, we as a society would be foolish not to adopt new law enforcement tools to deal with crimes that may look alike but pose different and greater risks and require different methods to effectively address.

[WiseOne]

Originally Posted by BIGJ

All of the post above are memebers of the "Good ole boys" network. I support Hate Crime laws to protect the minorities in this country.


I guess the Good ole boys above forgot about the jurys and courts who sentence some people with harsh sentences then others over a same crime. Wiseone, you keep on stating this equal prtection of the law but I never hear you talk about why some groups of people are having harsher sentences than others. You and others will only talk about it as a knee jerk reaction.

I am FAR from a "good 'ol boy." I do NOT see race, color, creed, sexual preference or anything of the sort. I assume when you say the harsher sentences you are meaning the "Jenna 6?" I agree on that one...they were given WAY to harsh of a sentence for what they did, I agree there. I simply want us to ALL be equal! I do NOT want overly harsh sentences for ANYONE no matter their color, race, creed, sexual preference, etc. I live my life WITHOUT looking at any of those...and I can PROVE it by EVERYONE who has EVER met me or knows me now, sir. If I am a "good 'ol boy," then Nathan Bedford Forrest was in the NAACP, LOL. Doing what you are saying will do NOTHING to stop those crimes. Hell, the laws now don't stop them, do you think a racist is going to think...hm, I better not now as I will get MORE time? Um, nope...IF they have that mindset, they WILL do what they WILL do and ALL of us should adhere to the SAME, EXACT laws and they SHOULD be harsh for ANYONE, no matter white, red, black, gay, Jewish, Arab, or whatever is all I'm saying. A crime against ANY person is a crime against a PERSON to me, not a race, and the likes. We are ALL humans.

[BIGJ]

Sorry, wiseone. I still stand for hate crime laws.

[Smurf-316]

I don't really give a damn what somebody thinks about me. I might be alot of things but a racist I'm not.
one of my best friends in high school and even now is black. he's been there for me time and again. he's came to my home, eat with me and my kids, went to school with me, and slept in my spare bedroom. he's one of the best people i've ever known.

[TheKing]

Originally Posted by BIGJ

All of the post above are memebers of the "Good ole boys" network. I support Hate Crime laws to protect the minorities in this country.

Is that similar to being apart of a crew, lol?

I don't support hate crime legislation to protect everyone in this country.

Originally Posted by BIGJ

I guess the Good ole boys above forgot about the jurys and courts who sentence some people with harsh sentences then others over a same crime. Wiseone, you keep on stating this equal prtection of the law but I never hear you talk about why some groups of people are having harsher sentences than others. You and others will only talk about it as a knee jerk reaction.

There is no such thing as the same crime. There's the same type of crime. I want some real examples of what your talkng about. Because I guarantee you there is a reason for almost every instance of black serving harder time.

Wiseone brought up the "jenna 6", the difference in the sentencing had to do with the subtstanial criminal history of the blacks. This wasn't the only run in with the law for these kids. There's a reason for harder sentencing. That's something the black community doesn't want to consider when looking at the differences. Also the violence, and injury involved had a lot to do with it.

A knee jerk reaction is buring down a city. A knee jerk reaction is parading and misleading the truth of the facts about some of these issues. A knee jerk reaction is trying to itimidate people to shut up, because what they say might lead to the truth.

Stage left Al Shaprton and Jesse Jackson. These two idiots make millions on knee jerk reactions.