Let's Thank the Missouri Delegation for Hate Crimes Legislation!

Yesterday, October 22nd, the U.S. Senate passed the Department of Defense Authorization bill, which included the Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act (aka The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act)! The House of Representatives previously passed the Matthew Shepard and Jamey Byrd, Jr Hate Crimes Prevention Act. Now federal hate crimes legislation is on it's way to the President's desk, and President Obama has promised to sign the Hate Crimes Prevention Act into law!

Over the past several months, many of us have sent e-mails and letters to our U.S. Senators and Representatives asking them to support hate crimes legislation- now it's time to send a warm Thank You to the members of the Missouri Congressional Delegation who voted in favor of The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act!

In addition to your e-mail, remember you can increase the impact of your "Thank You" by sending a hand-written note to the district office of your Senators and Representative. Read the Talking Points below to learn which Representatives voted in favor of the bill. You can find the name and district office address of your Representative HERE. You can find the district office addresses for Senators Bond and McCaskill HERE.

Talking Points

The U.S. House voted to approve the Hate Crimes Prevention Act on April 29, 2009. The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act (HCPA) was added as an amendment to the Department of Defense Authorization Legislation. On October 22nd, the U.S. Senate voted to approve the legislation- and send it to President Obama's desk to be signed into law.
The Hate Crimes Prevention Act will add sexual orientation, gender identity, disability and gender to existing federal hate crimes law, which already includes race, religion, and national origin.
The Hate Crimes Prevention Act will also provide assistance to state and local authorities in the investigation and prosecution of hate crimes.
The following members of the Missouri Congressional Delegation voted to approve the Hate Crimes Prevention Act: Senator Kit Bond, Senator Claire McCaskill, Rep. William Clay (MO-01), Rep. Russ Carnahan (MO-03), Rep. Ike Skelton (MO-04), Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (MO-05).
Rep. Todd Akin (MO-02), Rep. Sam Graves (MO-06), Rep. Roy Blunt (MO-07), Rep. Jo Ann Emerson (MO-08), Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO-09) voted against the Hate Crimes Prevention Act.
Remember: You can increase the impact of your "Thank You" by sending a hand written note to your Senators and your Representative in their district office. You can find the name and district office address of your Representative HERE. You can find the district office addresses for Senators Bond and McCaskill HERE.

Subject:

Dear [ Decision Maker ],

(Edit Letter Below)

Sincerely,
[Your name]
[Your address]

Take Action on this Issue

Send this message to:

Representative Emanuel Cleaver (if you live in Congressional District 5)
Representative Ike Skelton (if you live in Congressional District 4)
Representative Russ Carnahan (if you live in Congressional District 3)
Representative William Clay (if you live in Congressional District 1)
Senator Claire McCaskill
Senator Kit Bond

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