Q2: Random musings of an autistic gay boy

It took nearly a month, but I’ve finally recieved both canned responses from the Illinois Senate Delegation. The message from Senate Majority Whip Durbin was received 20090724, and was canned.

Dear Mr. Krenzer:

Thank you for your message regarding hate crimes. I appreciate hearing from you and share your concerns.

Fair and equal treatment of all Americans is a cornerstone of our society and our political system. Unfortunately, despite great progress, the struggle for civil rights and equal treatment under the law continues today for many citizens, and hate crimes continue to tear the fabric of communities throughout our country.

I am a cosponsor of the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act (S. 909). This bill would expand current federal protections against hate crimes based on race, religion, and national origin. It also would add provisions to the criminal code to permit the prosecution of hate crimes based on gender, sexual orientation, and disability. In addition, the measure would enable the federal government to assist state and local law enforcement agencies in their own investigation and prosecution of hate crimes.

In the 110th Congress, the Senate approved the hate crimes measure as an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2008 Department of Defense Authorization Bill. Unfortunately, the amendment was removed after President Bush threatened to veto the bill if it came to his desk with the hate crimes provision.

We need to enact the hate crimes bill as an important step toward the goal of preventing discrimination and violence based on factors such as race, religion, national origin, disability, gender, and sexual orientation. I will continue to keep your concerns in mind as the hate crimes bill is considered further in Congress.

Thank you again for your message. Please feel free to stay in touch.

Richard J. Durbin

The response from Senator Burris was received on 20090622. Being unknown has an advantage for your fellow citizens, it seems.

Dear Michael:

Thank you for contacting me regarding the Matthew Shepard Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act. I appreciate your correspondence on such an important issue.

Current law defines hate crime as any crime against either person or property in which the offender intentionally selects the victim because of the victim’s actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, gender, or disability. Currently, hate crimes are notseparate or distinct offenses under federal law; rather, they are traditional crimes that are committed by individuals who are motivated by one or more biases that are considered to be damaging to society as a whole.

I believe that hate crimes are fundamentally different from other offenses. Hate crimes are often not limited to the specific victim, but are committed with the intention of inspiring fear in a larger group. For this reason, I feel it is appropriate to enact federal legislation that deals separately with hate crimes. While I understand the concern over federal hate crime legislation infringing on freedom of speech, I believe that this legislation will not obstruct citizens from expressing their religious or political views unless such expression involves acts of physical violence.

The Matthew Shepard Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act would add “sexual orientation” to existing Federal hate crimes statutes. This bill supports existing local efforts to combat discrimination while preserving our nation’s strong heritage of religious expression and racial diversity. In short, those who seek to intimidate or threaten a specific social group with acts of violence will be held responsible under Federal law.

Again, thank you for writing. Please be assured that I will keep your views in mind when this legislation comes to the Senate.

Sincerely,

Roland W. Burris

United States Senator

While the Matthew Shepard Act has passed the US Senate as an attachment to a defence spending bill, I would have liked it to be its own stand-alone bill. Oh well…