Catholic
Family News • Hate Crimes Update • Three
reports:
Associated
Press Online
May 3, 2007 Thursday
White House Opposes Hate
Crime Bill
BYLINE: By JIM ABRAMS, Associated Press Writer
DATELINE:
The White House
issued a veto threat Thursday against legislation that would expand federal
hate crime law to include attacks motivated by the victims' gender or sexual
orientation.
The hate crimes
bill, with strong Democratic backing, is expected to pass the House Thursday.
Similar legislation is moving through the Senate.
But the
legislation, which also would increase the penalties for bias-based violence,
has met outspoken resistance from conservative groups and their Republican
allies in Congress, who warn that it undermines freedom of speech, religious
expression and equal protection under the law.
The White House,
in a statement, said state and local criminal laws already provide penalties
for the crimes defined by the bill and "there has been no persuasive
demonstration of any need to federalize such a potentially large range of
violent crime enforcement."
It also questioned
the constitutionality of federalizing the acts of violence barred by the bill
and said that if it reaches the president's desk "his senior advisers
would recommend that he veto the bill."
The White House
also noted that the bill would leave out other classes such as the elderly,
members of the military or police officers.
Hate crimes under
current federal law apply to acts of violence against individuals on the basis
of race, religion, color, or national original. Federal prosecutors have
jurisdiction only if the victim is engaged in a specific federally protected
activity such as enrolling in school, voting or traveling between states.
The House bill
would extend the hate crimes category to include sexual orientation, gender,
gender identity or disability.
That would make it
easier for federal authorities to become involved in hate crimes, although
House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich., said in a statement
that state and local authorities will continue to prosecute the overwhelming
majority of such cases.
"To ensure
federal restraint, the bill requires the attorney general or another
high-ranking Justice Department official to approve any prosecutions undertaken
pursuant to this measure," he said. He also stressed that it does not
impinge on public speech, religious expression or writing.
Those using guns
to commit crimes defined under the bill would face prison terms of up to 10
years. Crimes involving kidnapping or sexual assault or resulting in death
could bring life terms.
The Judiciary
Committee cited FBI figures that there have been more than 113,000 hate crimes
since 1991, including 7,163 in 1995. It said that racially motivated bias
accounted for 55 percent of those incidents, religious bias for 17 percent,
sexual orientation bias for 14 percent and ethnicity bias for 14 percent.
The bill is H.R. 1592
***
The White House Bulletin
May 3, 2007 Thursday
White House Issues Veto
Threat On Hate Crimes Bill
SECTION: IN THE WHITE HOUSE AND AROUND TOWN
The White House issued a statement today saying President Bush's "senior
advisors would recommend that he veto" a bill to expand the federal hate
crimes law to include attacks based on gender, sexual orientation, or
disability. HR 1592
was expected to pass the House today, and similar legislation is pending in the
Senate. The White House said state and local laws already provide penalties for
the crimes defined by the bill, and that "there has been no persuasive
demonstration of any need to federalize such a potentially large range of
violent crime enforcement." The White House also noted that the bill would
leave out other classes of people, including the elderly. The current law
applies to acts of violence based on race, religion, color and national origin.
House Judiciary
Committee Chairman John Conyers issued a statement saying that state and local
authorities would continue to prosecute the majority of such cases. Conyers
also said, "To ensure federal restraint, the bill requires the attorney
general or another high-ranking Justice Department official to approve any prosecutions
undertaken pursuant to this measure." Conyers added that the bill does not
infringe on free speech, writing, or religious expression.
***
May 3, 2007 Thursday 12:36 PM EST
Dobson Applauds
Hate-Crimes Veto Pledge
SECTION: POLITICAL EDITORS
DATELINE:
Focus on the
Family Action Founder James C. Dobson, Ph.D., today issued the following
statement in response to President Bush's pledge to veto H.R. 1592,
the Hate Crimes Act, if it reaches his desk:
"We applaud
the president's courage in standing up for the Constitution and the principle
of equal protection under the law. The American justice system should never
create second-class victims, and it is a first-class act of wisdom and fairness
for the president to pledge to veto this unnecessary bill."
James C. Dobson,
Ph.D. is a psychologist, author, radio broadcaster and founder of Focus on the
Family Action. Founded in 2004, Focus on the Family Action is an action
organization dedicated to the preservation of the moral and cultural values
upon which our nation was founded.
SOURCE Focus on
the Family Action
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