Tina Smith: “I rise today to once again discuss the need to enact hate crimes legislation. For the fifth consecutive Congress, I have…”

“I rise today to once again discuss the need to enact hate crimes legislation. For the fifth consecutive Congress, I have introduced this legislation with my colleague from Massachusetts, Senator Kennedy. The Senate knows well the substance of what we have debated. We have done it in every Congress of my tenure. A majority of Senators have repeatedly supported this legislation. Two years ago, under a Republican-controlled Senate, we overwhelmingly passed hate crimes legislation on the National Defense Authorization Act by a vote of 65 to 33. In 2000, the Senate voted 57 to 42 in favor of the bill. In 2002, we had 54 votes. Hate crimes legislation, in my view, is the most important civil rights issue before this Congress. The House has already passed this legislation. They have done so and we will do so, I hope, because America needs it. America is one of the most diverse societies on the planet, and I can think of no other country in world history that has achieved the same degree of diversity as the United States of America. Our diversity is, in part, our Nation's heritage. It is part of our political and social fabric. It is a source of our strength, and it should be protected from those who try to systematically victimize whole classes of individuals based on their beliefs, their practices, or their race.”