Topics in the News: Hate Crime
Merrick Garland on Hate Crime:
(Civil Rights Mar 30, 2021)
Improve hate crime reporting; prioritize prosecutions
Amid reports of a rising number of hate crimes against Asian Americans, Garland announced he is launching a 30-day "expedited review" into how the Justice Department can bolster its efforts to prosecute hate crimes and improve data collection.
Garland said he wants to find ways to improve reporting of hate crimes, "prioritize criminal investigations and prosecutions," and work with civil authorities to address cases of bias which may not rise to the statutory definition of a hate crime.
Click for Merrick Garland on other issues.
Source: Reuters, "Hate Crimes," 2021 Biden Administration
Cedric Richmond on Hate Crime:
(Civil Rights Feb 3, 2021)
Expand religious institutions' protection from hate crimes
Richmond, speaking at the Jewish Federations of North America's virtual mission, said Biden plans to push for increases to the Nonprofit Security Grant Program. Richmond was a proponent of the program during his tenure in the House.
Richmond added that the Biden administration is considering establishing a program within the Department of Justice to prevent attacks on faith-based organizations and increase sentences for individuals convicted of hate crimes at religious institutions.
Click for Cedric Richmond on other issues.
Source: Jewish Insider on Biden Cabinet
Mike Pence on Hate Crime:
(Civil Rights Sep 22, 2020)
No evidence of hate crimes over gender identity
According to The Indianapolis Star, "Pence, who has said he believes that being gay is a 'lifestyle choice,' also worried that a bill to protect gays and lesbians from workplace discrimination could be used to discriminate against Christians."
[Indianapolis Star, 4/12/15]"This bill designates in particular gender identity for federally protected status. Without, I might add, any evidence of any hate crimes occurring against individuals for gender identity." [Office of Rep. Pence, 4/29/09]"
Click for Mike Pence on other issues.
Source: FactCheck on 2020 Trump Research Book
Amy Klobuchar on Hate Crime:
(Civil Rights Feb 18, 2020)
Make fighting hate crimes a priority
I go back to my days when I was the head county attorney in our biggest county. I took on hate crimes in a big way then. The first thing you do is you make sure you have an attorney general in place that
is going to make this a priority. It's knowing how you enforce the laws. It's putting people in place that will do it. But it is also having the heart to actually make it a priority.
Click for Amy Klobuchar on other issues.
Source: CNN Town Hall on eve of 2020 S. C. primary
Amy Klobuchar on Hate Crime:
(Civil Rights Oct 10, 2019)
Throughout career, fighting hate crimes a priority
Q: Where does the LGBTQ community fall on your list of priorities? KLOBUCHAR: In my first job as the DA in Minnesota's biggest county, I made hate crimes a major priority. I was invited to the White House because of that, to introduce
President Clinton when he unveiled the Matthew Shepherd bill. When I got to the Senate, we actually passed that bill and got all of those other things passed that I mentioned and introduced. So for me, it's a major priority.
Click for Amy Klobuchar on other issues.
Source: CNN LGBT Town Hall 2020
Joe Biden on Hate Crime:
(Civil Rights Oct 10, 2019)
Pass Equality Act, enforce Civil Rights Act to protect LGBTQ
Q: Our son Matthew [Shepard] was murdered in 1998. What will you do to reduce violence and hate crimes against LGBTQ people? BIDEN: We have to pass the Equality Act. That's important because it would change a whole range of things. This is a civil
rights issue, protected by the Civil Rights Act, and we should focus on how to enforce that. My Justice Department will do that. Lastly, I think that it's important we start early and educate the population.
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.
Source: CNN LGBT Town Hall 2020
Cory Booker on Hate Crime:
(Crime Oct 10, 2019)
Presidential office on hate crimes and white supremacy
Q: On June 12, 2016, I was present as a man with an assault weapon murdered 49 mostly LGBTQ people of color at Pulse nightclub. What will you do?BOOKER: So first of all, very clearly, it is a national emergency, the majority of the terrorist attacks
in this country since 9/11 had been right-wing extremist groups and the majority of them had been white supremacist and hate groups. And I will elevate, as president, an office on hate crimes and white supremacy to make sure it is a presidential level
effort to protect our country as a whole, but I'm not stopping there. We need a Department of Justice that recognizes this is a problem and investigates hate crimes. 30% of LGBTQ youth have reported missing school in the last month because of
fears for their physical safety. We live in a country where we still see regular, everyday violence and intimidation and bullying against Americans because of who they are.
Click for Cory Booker on other issues.
Source: CNN LGBT Town Hall 2020
Tom Steyer on Hate Crime:
(Crime Oct 10, 2019)
Transgendered hate crimes: unequivocally prosecute severely
Q: I started an advocacy organization for black transgender men like myself. Nineteen black transgender women were killed in the U.S. this year, largely due to a lack of protections and an extreme lack of prosecutions. What will you do to ensure that
the judicial system prioritizes penalizing crimes against transgender citizens as hate crimes?STEYER: There are citizens in our society who are being targeted for murder as a result of who they are. This is a straightforward attack on humanity
itself to kill somebody for who they are. That has got to be the definition of a hate crime. We have got to prosecute those as severely as possible, as a symbol of who we are, a symbol of the thing that we won't put up with. And every
prosecutor has got to know that, that this is something that goes to the heart of American equality and justice. And that's got to be straightforward, unequivocal, not a 99 percent rule, a 100 percent rule.
Click for Tom Steyer on other issues.
Source: CNN LGBT Town Hall 2020
Beto O`Rourke on Hate Crime:
(Crime Oct 10, 2019)
More resources to fight hate crime against black trans women
Q: Black trans women are being killed at higher rates than anyone else in the LGBTQ community. What would you do to have safeguards in place?O'ROURKE: I'm going to listen to trans women of color. They will be the guide on this issue. They will direct
our policy. What that means is that we will no longer allow trans women of color to be killed at this alarming rate and to be killed with what is functionally impunity. If local law enforcement won't make it a priority, the local DA will not prosecute,
we are going to involve our Department of Justice to look at these as civil rights violations and a matter of restoring the very fabric of America, equal treatment under the law. I think it's really important, from the highest office in the land, to set
the standard, to speak in the most positive terms, to overturn that transgender troop ban on day one, and to make stopping this epidemic of violence against trans women a top priority for the United States of America.
Click for Beto O`Rourke on other issues.
Source: CNN LGBT Town Hall 2020
Beto O`Rourke on Hate Crime:
(Civil Rights Jul 30, 2019)
We don't just tolerate our differences, we embrace them
Q: How do you heal President Trump's racial divide?O'ROURKE: We'll call his racism out for what it is, and also talk about its consequences. It is changing this country. Hate crimes are in the rise--every single one of the last three years. We must
ensure that we don't just tolerate or respect our differences, but we embrace them. That's what we've learned in El Paso, my hometown. One of the safest cities in the US, not despite, but because it's a city of immigrants & asylum seekers & refugees.
Click for Beto O`Rourke on other issues.
Source: July Democratic Primary debate (first night in Detroit)
Cory Booker on Hate Crime:
(Crime Feb 1, 2019)
Make lynching a hate crime
- Booker has made criminal justice reform one of his top issues in the Senate, and scored a victory last year with the passage of the bipartisan First Step Act.
- The law, which overhauled sentencing guidelines and prison conditions, was an
updated version of a bill Booker first sponsored in 2015. Booker's personal connection to the criminal justice system, which he has called a "cancer on the soul of our nation," goes back more than two decades to when he ran free clinics to help
Newark residents expunge their criminal records.
- Booker joined the Senate's two other black members--Sens. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., and
Tim Scott, R-S.C., in introducing a bill to make lynching a hate crime.
- Booker also cited concerns about Jeff Sessions' record on civil rights at the Alabama senator's confirmation hearing for attorney general.
Click for Cory Booker on other issues.
Source: PBS News hour on 2020 Presidential hopefuls
Vladimir Putin on Hate Crime:
(Crime Dec 28, 2018)
Softens punishment for first-time offenders for hate crimes
Putin has signed a law that will soften the punishment for some hate crimes amid concerns over prison terms handed down to people for "liking" or reposting memes on the Internet. The legislation, signed by Putin, will
remove the possibility of a prison sentence for first-time offenders found to have incited ethnic, religious, and other forms of hatred and discord in public, including in the media or on the Internet.
Click for Vladimir Putin on other issues.
Source: Radio Free Europe on Foreign Influencers
Deb Haaland on Hate Crime:
(Civil Rights Oct 9, 2018)
Justice, dignity and safety for all the marginalized
When too many are facing increasingly hateful violence--specifically in the black, brown, Native American, and LGBTQ communities-- I will fight for justice, dignity, and safety for marginalized communities. We must ensure that our policies reflect the
inclusion and kindness we want to see in America. That means demilitarizing our nation's police forces, legalizing marijuana for adults over 21, ensuring that we support the DOJ in investigating and prosecuting hate crimes and police violence.
Click for Deb Haaland on other issues.
Source: 2018 NM-1st House campaign website DebForCongress.com
Joe Biden on Hate Crime:
(Families & Children Oct 24, 2017)
1990: Pushed through Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)
The Violence Against Women Act included $300 million to train police, prosecutors, and victim advocates to help survivors, fund education programs, and toughen prosecutions on abusers. It had also helped define sexual assault as a hate crime.Biden
launched this crusade in 1990. [Finally, in 1994], when President Clinton inked the legislation into law, the Democratic majority leader said that Biden was "the one person most responsible for passage of this bill."
It had taken more than four years,
but Biden stuck with it. The most important legacy of the VAWA, is that it helped change the culture about the way we think about these issues, whether it was sexual harassment, physical harassment, sexual assault, or violence in families.
Biden's work did not stop with VAWA. He would spend the next 25 years working to further change that culture, spreading awareness about sexual assault, and how it was not just a "women's issue," but one that needs to be owned by the men too.
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.
Source: The Book of Joe, by Jeff Wilser, p.107-9
Barack Obama on Hate Crime:
(Immigration Jun 4, 2008)
GovWatch: Anti-immigrants fuel xenophobia, but 45% increase
Barack Obama said at a Palm Beach fundraiser on May 22, “A certain segment has basically been feeding a kind of xenophobia. There’s a reason why hate crimes against Hispanic people doubled last year. If you have people like Lou Dobbs and Rush
Limbaugh ginning things up, it’s not surprising that would happen.”Obama needs to be more careful in his use of statistics. If he is going to blame Lou Dobbs and Rush Limbaugh for “ginning up” hate crimes against Hispanics, he needs solid data to back
up his allegation. The hate crimes statistics are wildly inaccurate--and a subsequent modified claim provided by his campaign was also off the mark.
Lou Dobbs of CNN has repeatedly made use of flawed statistics, but there is no excuse for
resorting to equally flawed data to attack Dobbs and his ilk. Hate crime offenses against Latinos rose from 529 in 2003 to 770 in 2006, a total increase over three years of about 45% [not even closed to double].
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: GovWatch on 2008: Washington Post analysis on 2008 election
Barack Obama on Hate Crime:
(Civil Rights Feb 21, 2008)
Hate crimes related to the immigration issue is unacceptable
Because immigration reform was used as a political football instead of a way of solving a problem, nothing happened. It is absolutely critical that we tone down the rhetoric when it comes to immigration, because there has been an undertone that has been
ugly. Oftentimes, it has been directed at the Hispanic community. We have seen hate crimes skyrocket in the wake of the immigration debate, & that is unacceptable. We are a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants, and we can reconcile those two things.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: 2008 Democratic debate at University of Texas in Austin
Joe Biden on Hate Crime:
(Crime Dec 1, 2007)
Bush is impediment to hate crimes legislation
OBAMA: [to Biden]: There is a consequence to the demagoguery [over immigration]--hate crimes against Latinos have gone way up. We’ve also seen this epidemic of nooses being hung all across the country since the events down in Jena. So, what can we do to
strengthen the enforcement of hate crimes legislation? It is something that I will prioritize as president but I don’t want to have to wait until I am.BIDEN: We can and we should move [the pending Hate Crimes legislation] forward.
The impediment right now is the president. We need someone in the civil rights division who is aggressive in going after these hate crimes. I would not wait. Why did we not hear immediately from the justice department in the Jena 6? Why did we not hear
immediately when the rash of burnings took place? Why did we not hear? The reason is that they are not committed. Hate crimes are just that. The vilest and filthiest of crimes. And when you let one celebrated hate crime go, you generate an attitude.
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.
Source: 2007 Iowa Brown & Black Presidential Forum
Barack Obama on Hate Crime:
(Crime Dec 1, 2007)
Lack of enforcement sets tone for more hate crimes
OBAMA: [to Biden]: There is a consequence to the demagoguery [over immigration]--hate crimes against Latinos have gone way up over the last year. We’ve also seen over the last several months this epidemic of nooses being hung all across the country since
the events down in Jena, Louisiana. And it indicates the degree to which a president has to set a tone of bringing all people together as opposed to excluding people. And being willing to talk about racial issues when they arise and having a civil rights
division of the justice department that is aggressive about investigating. So, what can we do to strengthen the enforcement of hate crimes legislation? It is something that I will prioritize as president but I don’t want to have to wait until I am.
BIDEN: We can and we should move [the pending Hate Crimes legislation] forward. The impediment right now is the president. We need someone in the civil rights division who is aggressive in going after these hate crimes. I would not wait.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: 2007 Iowa Brown & Black Presidential Forum
Barack Obama on Hate Crime:
(Civil Rights Mar 27, 2007)
Pass ENDA and expand hate crime legislation
We must be careful to keep our eyes on the prize--equal rights for every American. We must continue to fight for the Employment Non Discrimination Act.
We must expand hate crime legislation and be vigilant about how these laws are enforced--.continue to expand adoption rights to make them consistent --and we must repeal the “Don’t ask, don’t tell’ military policy.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: In His Own Words, edited by Lisa Rogak, p. 44
Ken Salazar on Hate Crime:
(Civil Rights Aug 11, 2004)
Oppose the Federal Marriage Amendment
I believe that marriage is between one man and one woman. I oppose the Federal Marriage Amendment.
I support expanding hate crimes laws to include sexual orientation, and I support laws prohibiting discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations.
Click for Ken Salazar on other issues.
Source: 2004 Senate campaign website, SalazarForColorado.com
Hillary Clinton on Hate Crime:
(Civil Rights Sep 9, 2000)
End hate crimes and other intolerance
I am deeply saddened and outraged by the recent incidents of hate crimes, and I hope our outrage will strengthen our resolve to address these scourges of gun violence and hate crimes in America today.
There is no place for violence or intolerance in this country, and it is urgent that we address these issues now.
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: www.hillary2000.org, “Hate Crimes”
Donald Trump on Hate Crime:
(Civil Rights Jul 2, 2000)
Tolerate diversity; prosecute hate crimes against gays
One of our next president’s most important goals must be to induce a greater tolerance for diversity. The senseless murder of Matthew Shepard in Wyoming-where an innocent boy was killed because of his sexual orientation-
turned my stomach. We must work towards an America where these kinds of hate crimes are unthinkable.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: The America We Deserve, by Donald Trump, p. 31
Page last updated: Mar 01, 2022
Error processing SSI file