Lateefah Simon: “first let me acknowledge the leadership of Senator Kennedy. Senator Kennedy has really been, in all these areas of human…”

“first let me acknowledge the leadership of Senator Kennedy. Senator Kennedy has really been, in all these areas of human rights, a distinguished leader. I really appreciate that leadership. I attended a meeting of the Illinois Society last night, people from Illinois who live in the Washington, DC, area. We started that meeting by saying the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. One of the things that has interested me is how rarely we do something like that anymore. As part of that Pledge of Allegiance, we said, ``one Nation, under God, indivisible * * *'' Some people want to make it ``one Nation, under God, indivisible,'' except for African-Americans. Some want to make it ``one Nation, under God, indivisible,'' except for Hispanic-Americans. Some people want to make it ``one Nation, under God, indivisible,'' except for Asian-Americans. Some people want to make it ``one Nation, under God, indivisible,'' except for people with disabilities. And some people want to make it ``one Nation, under God, indivisible,'' except for gays. I think there are a great many people who feel uncomfortable in this area. It is a word that Senator Hatch used. Let me comment first on the Defense of Marriage Act and then on the legislation that Senator Kennedy has introduced, of which I am pleased to be a cosponsor. The hate crimes bill that I introduced a few years ago, that is now law, has the FBI keeping track of hate crimes.”