Passage of Hate Crimes Bill Signals a New Day for Justice, Says NCLR

NCLR (National Council of La Raza), the largest national Latino civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States, hailed the Senate passage (68–29) of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act as part of the Department of Defense (DOD) Authorization (H.R. 2647) to strengthen federal protection against hate crimes. NCLR has worked to pass hate crimes legislation for ten years, and passage of this bill is significant in particular to the Latino community since hate crimes against Hispanics have risen by 40% in the past several years.

“Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, ‘An injustice anywhere, is an injustice everywhere.’ This bill is a testament to our nation’s willingness to put an end to the national wave of hate crimes that has claimed the lives of innocent people,” said NCLR President and CEO Janet Murguía.

The bill will authorize the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate and prosecute bias-motivated crimes based on a victim’s actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender, race, gender identity, or disability. Furthermore, DOJ will now have jurisdiction over prosecuting hate crimes where state and local law is inadequate or when local authorities are unwilling to act.

In the last year, numerous innocent lives have been lost in a wave of brutal hate crimes. In July of 2008, 25-year-old Luis Ramirez lost his life after he was knocked unconscious and kicked in the head by a group of Shenandoah, Pennsylvania teenagers who yelled racial epithets before and during the brutal beating. In November of 2008, 37-year-old Marcelo Lucero was savagely beaten and fatally stabbed in Long Island, New York by a group of teenagers who hunted him down simply for being Latino. Only a month later, we mourned the murder in Brooklyn, New York of Jose Osvaldo Sucuzhañay, whose life was violently taken by a group of people who, according to witnesses, were motivated by hate-filled bigotry.

“This landmark legislation takes major steps toward ensuring equal protection under the law for all Americans and we thank Senator Reid for his leadership in passing this bill that is critical to the Latino community,” concluded Murguía.”

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