ACTION ALERT

Grassroots Action Urgently Needed on Hate Crimes Bill

September 22, 1999

Please Take Action Immediately:

We need your help right away to assure that sex-based hate crimes remain in S. 622, the Hate Crimes Prevention Act (HCPA) and that Congress approves of the Commerce/State/Justice Appropriations bill containing HCPA before the current fiscal year expires on Sept. 30th. We have an emergency situation with Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, who is trying to delete both sex-based and disability-based hate crimes from HCPA. He is also attempting to add restrictions so severe that they undermine entire bill.

Please call Sen. Hatch (R-UT) at (202) 224-5225 or (202) 224-2951 and tell him that the law must address sex-based hate crimes. You can ask for the Senator's aides at the above numbers, Manus Cooney or Sharon Prost. Advocates should also urge that he retain the prohibition against disability bias crimes as well.  Sen. Hatch's office has told us that they have not heard from the women's or disability rights communities on this matter, so he does not believe that there is widespread support for expanding federal statutes to include these categories of bias crimes.

Be sure to make those calls quickly and get several friends to do so. Utah advocates are strongly urged to get in touch with the Senator's offices in Washington, D.C.  The fax number is (202) 224-6331 and the email address senator_hatch@hatch.senate.gov

Also, please call today the office of Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) (202) 224-7878 to thank him for his effective leadership in fighting hate crimes and to urge that he stand firm on keeping the sex-based hate crimes provision in S. 622.   Sen. Kennedy's fax number is (202)-224-2417 and the email address is senator@kennedy.senate.gov
 

Additional Details:

As many of you are aware, the Hate Crimes Prevention Act (S. 622) was adopted as an amendment offered by Sen. Kennedy to the Commerce/State/Justice (CJS) Appropriations bill this summer.  Because of the struggle over the budget, it is not clear that the appropriations measures will get passed before the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30th.  The Republican leadership in both the House and the Senate are generally opposed to expanding federal law to include sex-based hate crimes.  Many members of the older white male majority controlling Congress don't believe that sex-based hate crimes occur!

Sen. Hatch, as chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has grudgingly held several hearings on hate crimes and has offered his own, very weak hate crimes bill. This was adopted, also, as an amendment to the CJS Appropriations bill. Sen. Hatch does support adding the prohibition against sexual-orientation based hate crimes, but wants to drop sex-based and disability-based hate crimes from the bill. He is also intending to narrowly limit other language in the bill so that federal law would effect only the handful of hate crimes that it currently does. Because of the Senator's powerful position in the Senate, there is a strong chance that his views will prevail  -- unless women and disabled persons make a strong protest.  Sen. Hatch is campaigning for President, so he is going to be more sensitive to public opinion. Activists need to apply maximum pressure on the Senator; call him today. A decision will be made in the next few days.

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