Hank Johnson: “We've had Federal hate crime legislation on the books since 1968. It covered violent crimes targeted against persons…”

“We've had Federal hate crime legislation on the books since 1968. It covered violent crimes targeted against persons based upon race, color, religion and national origin. Now we've got folks who don't want us to extend this hate crime legislation to those who would be attacked because of their gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability of the victim, and this at a time, Mr. Speaker, when one in six hate crimes is motivated by the victim's sexual orientation. And yet today's Federal laws don't include any protection for these Americans. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this legislation. It is the right thing to do. It is the humane thing to do. Let's bring protection to those who need it now, 39 years later after the act was enacted.”