Zoe Lofgren: “it is time to pass a hate crimes bill. Some people confuse hate crimes with the idea that some victims are worthier than…”

“it is time to pass a hate crimes bill. Some people confuse hate crimes with the idea that some victims are worthier than others. What that misses is the fact that when there is a hate crime there is more than one victim: the individual who has been assaulted and the group that that victim belongs to. We know that when there is a hate crime the intent is to intimidate, frighten, and alarm people who share the same trait as the victim, whether it is their religion or some other trait. So we need to make sure that we protect Americans against hate crimes. I am a member of the Committee on the Judiciary with jurisdiction over this bill which I am a co-sponsor of. We are not even meeting today. We should use our time to enhance law enforcement to protect Americans to pass a strong hate crimes bill.”