American Jewish Committee Lauds Senate Passage Of Hate Crimes Bill And Urges House To Act

American Jewish Committee
Friday, 23 July 1999

The American Jewish Committee today called Senate passage of the Hate Crimes Prevention Act a "significant achievement" and applauded President Clinton's call on the U.S. House to join with the Senate in broadening protections against hate crimes.

"Given the brutal hate crimes our nation has witnessed in the past 13 months, the Senate's adoption of the Hate Crimes Prevention Act is truly a significant achievement," said David A. Harris, Executive Director of the American Jewish Committee. "Many steps, including education, need to be taken to combat those who perpetrate hate crimes, but strengthening our federal statutes is vital."

AJC advocated vigorously for Senate adoption of the Hate Crimes Prevention Act - a measure that was included in the Commerce, Justice, and State Appropriations Bill.

With 100,000 members and 32 offices nationwide, AJC was spurred to advocate for the strengthening of federal hate crimes laws in the wake of the dragging death of a black man in Texas; the killing of a gay man in Wyoming; the Independence Day rampage in Illinois and Indiana that left a black man and an Asian man dead and six Orthodox Jews seriously injured; and the burning of three synagogues in Northern California by assailants who may also be responsible for the murder of a gay man in Sacramento.

The HCPA, if passed by the House and signed into law by the President, would remove the overly restrictive impediments to federal prosecution of hate crimes, and expand the protection of federal law to Americans who are singled out for violent crime on the basis of sexual orientation, gender or disability.

A central thrust of the AJC's work for more than nine decades has been to counter hate and promote tolerance and pluralism. AJC's "Hands Across the Campus" program, one facet of this multi-pronged approach, is used in dozens of schools across the U.S.

For more information, or to contact American Jewish Committee, see their website at: www.ajc.org