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HATE CRIMES HIGH ON THE AGENDA
August 13, 1999
The Senate is moving forward on expanding
federal power to prosecute hate crimes.
A bill sponsored by Ted Kennedy (D-MA)
and Arlen Specter (R-PA), broadening
the hate crime law to include
gender, sexual orientation,
and disability, has passed as an amendment
to the Commerce, State, and Justice,
appropriations bill. The future of the
amendment is uncertain as it moves through
conference committees to final passage,
especially since Senator Orrin Hatch
(R-UT) has offered a watered-down
"compromise" that excludes
gender and sexual orientation. Urge
your Senator to stick with the Kennedy-Specter
version of hate crimes by calling 202-224-3121
(or e-mail
your Senator), and oppose
any attempts to weaken protections.
And while you're at it, ask the Washington
Post (www.washingtonpost.com
or 1115 15th Street NW, Washington,
DC 20071) what's problematic about gender
(editorial 8/10/99). Rape
and battering are gender-based hate
crimes, period.
(WFF 8/13/99)
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