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on Hate Crimes Legislation Applauded Human Rights Campaign
The discharge petition was filed by Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., who is one of the bill's lead house sponsors along with Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., Mark Foley, R-Fla., Barney Frank, D-Mass., Richard Gephardt, D-Mo., Jim Kolbe, R-Ariz., Connie Morella, R-Md., and Christopher Shays, R-Conn. In spite of strong bipartisan support for the bill, it has never been brought up for stand-alone consideration in the House. A discharge petition is one of the only ways to force congressional leaders to schedule a vote on a measure. They require 218 signatures. The only successful discharge petition in recent memory was on the issue of campaign finance reform, and it took three years to complete. "Historically, discharge petitions have been politically risky because of the potential to polarize legislation along party lines. We are urging every supporter of LLEEA, Republican and Democrat alike, to be at the forefront of the effort to sign this discharge petition," said Stachelberg. In 2000, through political maneuvering, congressional allies were able to force a vote on a non-binding procedural motion in the House in support of the measure. The motion passed 232 to 192, with 41 Republicans. This came after a strong Senate vote, 57 to 42, with 13 Republicans, on an amendment to the Defense Authorization bill. However, the bill was stripped out in conference committee. A similar scenario occurred in the 105th Congress after the measure was passed in the Senate as an amendment to the Commerce-Justice State Appropriations bill. |
Rep. Barney Frank is one of the primary sponsors of the Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act