Responding to a marked increase in hate crimes within the United States over the past several years, Senator Richard Blumenthal and Representative Don Beyer have introduced legislation to improve governmental responses to these crimes on the federal and state levels.
Marginalized groups will not experience true freedom or equality until they are free from the constant threat of attack.
“This legislation is a necessary step forward for civil rights in this country,” said FCNL Lobbyist for Human Rights and Civil Liberties Yasmine Taeb. “American Muslims, members of the Jewish community, immigrants, LGBTQ individuals, and other marginalized groups will not experience true freedom or equality until they are free from the constant threat of attack.”
Taeb stated that “a government that fails to protect its own residents from hate crimes is clearly negligent” and urged all members of Congress to support Sen. Blumenthal and Rep. Beyer’s legislation.
“Hate crimes don’t just harm one individual or one piece of property,” Sen. Blumenthal said. “They’re intended to hurt an entire community. That’s what makes hate crimes so dangerous and insidious. But that’s also why it’s so important for us to stand together in opposition to hate crimes.”
In a statement announcing the introduction of the House bill, Rep. Beyer’s office cited a recent attack in which a man in Kansas allegedly shouted “get out of my country” before shooting two men from India. The statement also cited the recent rash of bomb threats targeting Jewish community centers. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, hate crimes against Muslims increased 67% in 2015; the FBI estimates that hate crimes overall rose by 7% in the same year.
Sen. Blumenthal and Rep. Beyer’s legislation, entitled the National Opposition to Hate, Assault, and Threats to Equality (NO HATE) Act, would strengthen governmental responses to hate crimes on the federal and state levels by improving reporting, creating a hate crimes hotline, strengthening education and community service requirements for perpetrators, and making it easier for victims to seek justice in the courts.
Cosponsors of Sen. Blumenthal’s bill (S. 662) include Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Mazie Hirono (D-HI).
In the House, cosponsors of Rep. Beyer’s bill (H.R. 1566) include Representatives David Cicilline (D-RI), Debbie Dingell (D-MI), Hank Johnson (D-GA), Ron Kind (D-WI), Ted Lieu (D-CA), Tony Cardenas (D-CA), Paul Tonko (D-NY), G.K. Butterfield (D-NC), Janice Schakowsky (D-IL), William Keating (D-MA), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Joyce Beatty (D-OH), Jared Polis (D-CO), Tim Ryan (D-OH), Steve Cohen (D-TN), Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Adam Smith (D-WA), James McGovern (D-MA), and Bobby Rush (D-IL).
