Political Quotes

“I have every day put into the Congressional Record the details of a hate crime. These are always violent, they are always sickening, but they also happen to an American citizen. They happen sometimes because the victim is black, gay, disabled, female, or even of Middle Eastern descent. And yet they are all Americans. So they ought to have the concern of all in the Senate. I wish to speak again on the Senate floor about another crime. It is gruesome. It happened just a year ago, and it involved a young Navajo boy by the name of Fred Martinez, Jr. He had gone to a local rodeo. He was openly gay; apparently also transgender; again, of Navajo descent. He was found south of Cortez, CO. He had died after being repeatedly hit on his head with a rock and left in a small canyon, possibly suffering for an extended period of time before dying. Police investigated this murder as a hate crime. The perpetrator of this crime, who was recently sentenced, allegedly bragged he ``bug- smashed a fag.'' The victim's mother told the press that she believes her son was killed because he identified himself as transgender. He occasionally dressed as a girl. In the mind of his murderer, Fred deserved to die for such conduct. I believe the Government's first duty is to defend its citizens against hatred, against the harms that flow from a hate-filled heart.”