National Organization for Women

November 30, 2007

Dear Representative:

The National Organization for Women, representing more than 500,000 contributing members and supporters across the country with many in your Congressional district, supports the enactment of the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act. This bill is part of the House/Senate conference committee's discussions around the Department of Defense Authorization bill and the conference report will be before you in the weeks ahead. The Senate version of the DoD authorization includes the hate crimes provisions and it is imperative that you pass this important civil rights measure to address bias crimes.

A bipartisan majority of the House and Senate has consistently supported this legislation. In the 110th Congress, the House passed the LLEHCPA by a vote of 237-180 on May 3. On September 27, sixty Senators voted in support of adding the hate crime provisions as an amendment to the Department of Defense Authorization measure.

This legislation is especially important for the girls and women of this nation because it extends existing federal hate crimes laws beyond the narrow scope of protected federal activities and also includes -- for the first time -- violent crimes committed on the basis of actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, disability and gender identity. Women know first hand how vicious crimes of sexual and hate-filled violence can affect our lives, especially if local law enforcement is ill-equipped to investigate and prosecute these crimes. We know that hate crimes are more than individual assaults -- they send shock waves and fear throughout a whole community. Girls' and women's lives are restricted and often ruined by the fear as well as the reality of vicious hate crimes, be they based on our religion, race, gender identity or just because we are women.

This bill does NOT criminalize hate speech nor infringe on any group's civil rights or religious liberties. NOW has worked to protect first amendment rights to free speech, the right to be free from discrimination based on beliefs, and certainly the right to assemble. You have seen us on sidewalks with our signs, in front of the Supreme Court, and sometimes in front of your office. We would never support a law that shut down our ability to practice these basic guaranteed rights.

Please support this important federal civil rights legislation. People's safety and lives are at stake.

Sincerely,
Kim Gandy
NOW President

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