John Spratt: “in the last 18 months, 40 churches have been burned to the ground, 5 of them in my State. And despite mounting concern…”

“in the last 18 months, 40 churches have been burned to the ground, 5 of them in my State. And despite mounting concern, eight churches have burned in the last 2 weeks, four within the last 2 days. It is time, past time, for Congress to say, ``In America, we don't burn churches, synagogues, or mosques, or let anyone who does, escape with impunity.'' Today, we have such a chance, because today, we take up a bill called the Church Arson Prevention Act. We all know that this law will not bring these heinous crimes to a sudden halt. But this law will put the authority of Federal Government, the BATF and the FBI, into the investigation, prosecution, and punishment of every church that's burned. This bill attempts to justify its purpose under the Interstate Commerce Clause, which I think is unnecessary. I think that under the 1st and 14th amendment, Congress not only has the power but the duty to prohibit any restraint on the free exercise of religion, and we not only have the power but a special duty to see that crimes of hate, aimed at African-Americans because of their race, are prosecuted and punished. And that is critically true when the hatred is visited on churches, the vital beating heart of African-American communities. I feel certain that the Church Arson Prevention Act will pass this House overwhelmingly. But that is not enough.…”