(Yes, this diary is a slightly-reworked retread of a diary I wrote a while back.)
Yes, I know the Sotomayor hearings are important...but there are other important things going on in the world right now, too. The Senate is scheduled to vote on the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act (aka the Matthew Shepard Act) THIS WEEK. The bill passed the House back in April and is up for a vote in the Senate THIS WEEK. Call your Senator NOW and urge them to vote yes on S. 909.
CALL YOUR SENATOR RIGHT NOW. THE SENATE SWITCHBOARD IS 202-224-3121.
Follow me over the jump for factoids, talking points and action items!
CALL YOUR SENATOR RIGHT NOW. THE SENATE SWITCHBOARD IS 202-224-3121.
What is the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act?
The bill would give jurisdiction to the US Department of Justice in hate crime cases, defined as a crime motivated by a person's actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability. In doing so, it adds sexual orientation and gender identity to existing hate crimes laws and allows local law enforcement agencies to transfer responsibility in these cases to federal authorities.
The bill has been proposed several times, and passed in the House on April 29 by a vote of 249-175. The Senate version was originally tacked on to a DoD appropriations bill in the 110th Congress and eventually withdrawn amid opposition from Republicans. Now that we have a Democratic Senate, a Democratic House and a Democratic president, the bill seems destined for easy passage...but that doesn't mean we can rest on our laurels.
It's been a rough year for the LGBT community. The president and the Congress seem deadset on stalling on a repeal of DADT (save for Patrick Murphy *love him!*) and DOMA. We can win this one, and we can win it THIS WEEK.
It's fitting that this vote is coming this week. This week brings the trial of Dwight DeLee, accused of murdering LaTeisha Green, a transgendered woman from Syracuse, NY. Friends and family have gathered to remember LaTeisha, but we can do better. We can give our law enforcement agencies the tools necessary to fight these kinds of crimes. We can ensure that LaTeisha didn't die in vain.
CALL YOUR SENATOR RIGHT NOW. THE SENATE SWITCHBOARD IS 202-224-3121.
Conservative Christians are all over this one. They're calling it the Pedophile Protection Act. They say it is designed to make opposition to homosexuality a "thought crime", but the truth is that the bill only punishes violent acts, not violent thoughts. They say it will muzzle clergy, but it does no such thing. The bill is only designed to combat violent bias-motivated crimes. Right now they're flooding the Senate switchboard, and we need to fight back.
CALL YOUR SENATOR RIGHT NOW. THE SENATE SWITCHBOARD IS 202-224-3121.
Call your friends, family and neighbors and encourage them to call their senator. Then, GET ON THE PHONE. CALL NOW.
Steps to take RIGHT NOW:
- Recommend this diary (of course)!
- Read these facts from the Human Rights Campaign.
- Call now!
- Call three friends and ask them to call now!
- Follow the discussion on Twitter by using the #fighthatenow hashtag.
- CALL NOW!!
CALL YOUR SENATOR RIGHT NOW. THE SENATE SWITCHBOARD IS 202-224-3121.