Take Action Today on Hate Crimes Act!
Act Today on Hate Crimes Act!!
The Senate may vote on the Matthew Shepard Act (Hate Crimes Prevention Act S.909) as early as tomorrow, Wednesday, July 15th. We are urging all Equality Illinois members to call the offices of Senator Durbin and Senator Burris now to thank them both for co-sponsoring S.909. It is imperative that our Senators hear our voices of support, as you can be certain that right-wing opponents, such as James Dobson's Focus on the Family, have been flooding the Senators' offices with phone calls and letters against the Hate Crimes Act.
Every hour of every day, at least one hate crime offense is committed somewhere in the United States. Of those attacked, it's estimated that at least 15% of hate crimes are related to a person's perceived or actual sexual orientation or gender identity. TELL YOUR SENATORS THAT THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE! Call Senators Durbin and Burris to reiterate that we need their support for the Hate Crimes Act, and thank them for being allies to the LGBT community.
Senator Richard "Dick" Durbin - 202-224-2152
Senator Roland W. Burris - 202-224-2854
The Matthew Shepard Act would give the Justice Department the power to investigate and prosecute bias-motivated violence. It will extend existing federal protections to include "gender identity, sexual orientation, gender and disability."
The companion bill in the U.S. House of Representatives (H.R.1913) already passed the House by a vote of 249-175, so we have a good chance to make this bill a law!
If you have family and friends in other states, tell them to contact their Senators and urge support of this bill by using the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121.
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This bill, which passed both houses of Congress in 2007 but did not become law, would protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people from bias-motivated hate violence.
While all violent crimes are heinous, hate crimes are uniquely destructive, casting a pall of terror over an entire community. They don't just target a single victim. They are designed to "send a message" that an individual and "their kind" will not be tolerated, often leaving large numbers of people feeling isolated, vulnerable and unprotected.
Attacks against LGBT people are one of the more common forms of hate violence but, illogically, one of the least protected. Hate crimes as a whole declined 1 percent last year, according to the FBI, but LGBT hate crimes increased 6 percent.
Please protect civil rights by giving this bill your full support and attention, and by urging your colleagues to support it as well.
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