Diane Watson: “I stand in support of H.R. 1343, the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act. I am so pleased to see that this…”

“I stand in support of H.R. 1343, the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act. I am so pleased to see that this issue is coming up to the forefront here nationally. In California we worked long and hard and had a task force that looked at hate crimes up and down the State. We compiled valuable information that assists law enforcement in identifying hate crimes and enforcing the law. The events of September 11 have continued to demonstrate the destructive power of hate to tear apart the unity of an entire Nation. In the wake of the terrorist attacks, the Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee has investigated, documented and referred to Federal authorities over 500 instances. Moreover, the Council on American-Islamic Relations has compiled over 1,400 complaints of hate attacks directed against American Muslims. This is a 51 percent increase in reported crimes. These instances include the murders of a Muslim Pakistani store owner in Dallas, Texas, and an Indian American gas station owner in Mesa, Arizona, where a suspect was arrested shouting, 'I stand for America all the way.' The Department of Justice, however, has opened only approximately 250 investigations of hate crimes directed against institutions or people who appeared to be Arab or Middle Easterners. September 11 and the Arab American situation only represents the tip of a proverbial iceberg.”