Lynn C. Woolsey: “we are all part of a larger community. If the rights of one are endangered, then everyone's rights are endangered. That…”

“we are all part of a larger community. If the rights of one are endangered, then everyone's rights are endangered. That is why we must be concerned that across the country incidents of hate crimes continue to rise. The San Francisco Bay area, my own backyard, reported more than 357 hate crimes last year. This is up from 317 in the year 2001. Last fall a transgender teenager, a 17-year-old, from Silicon Valley was murdered by four acquaintances. Earlier this month, the body of a 30-year-old bisexual man was found buried in a shallow grave in Monterey County. We must stop this. We must work for tougher legislation to protect those targeted for hate crimes. And we can do this by passing a Federal hate crimes law to protect all Americans. No one in America should live in fear because of his or her ethnic background, religious affiliation, gender, disability, or sexual preference. That is why it is important to pass meaningful hate crimes legislation and pass it now. We need to strengthen our existing laws to protect people against all hate crimes. We must send a message to all Americans that hateful behavior is wrong and will not be tolerated in our Nation. Our law enforcement officials need vigorous tools to fight and prosecute hate crimes because existing Federal law is inadequate. That is why I have been, and will continue to be, a strong supporter of the gentleman from Michigan's (Mr. Conyers) Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act.”