Political Quotes

“Today we consider the Church Arson Prevention Act of 1996, H.R. 3525, legislation reflecting a bipartisan congressional response to the rash of church burnings that have occurred in recent months. On May 21, the House Judiciary Committee conducted a hearing focusing on this problem. The committee, at that time, heard first hand from Federal and State law enforcement officials regarding the status of their various investigations. In addition, we heard some very compelling and emotional testimony from two black ministers representing affected African-American congregations. During that hearing, the Department of Justice indicated that the principal statute used to prosecute church arson contains some significant defects that need to be remedied. Specifically, section 247 of title 18, damage to religious property, imposes an interstate commerce requirement that goes well beyond constitutional requirements. The current law says that the defendant must either travel in interstate commerce, or use a facility or instrumentality of interstate commerce and that the defendant must do so 'in interstate commerce.' Thus, for example, it's not enough to use a telephone to help commit the crime--the call must go out of State.”