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on Hate Crimes Prevention |
Compiled By GayToday
Washington, D.C.--Despite the rash of hate violence that has swept through the United States during the past year, House and Senate conservatives are holding up passage of the Hate Crimes Prevention Act in the waning days of Congress. "The whole country is watching," said Kerry Lobel, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. "We watched in horror when Matthew Shepard died, when Joseph Ileto was shot to death, when children at a Jewish community center in Los Angeles was attacked, when at least 20 gay, lesbian bisexual and transgendered people were killed during the past year alone. Now we watch again as Congress fails to act. We elect our leaders to provide vision and leadership and now is the time for them to step forward."
Currently, federal authorities can only intervene if a victim is engaged in a federally protected act such as attempting to vote, go to school or serve on a jury. |