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WASHINGTON - The Interfaith Alliance, the nonpartisan national advocacy voice of the interfaith movement, joined a diverse coalition of law enforcement, civil rights and religious organizations to endorse the bipartisan Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2005 as reintroduced today by Reps. John Conyers (D-MI), Barney Frank (D-MA), Lleana Ros-Lehiten (R-FL) and Christopher Shays (R-CT).
The legislation, if enacted, will expand federal jurisdiction to cover violent hate crimes committed "because of the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, or disability" of the victim.
"Legislation alone cannot remove hatred from the hearts and minds of individuals, but legislation can help to create a society where hate-motivated violence is deemed intolerable," said the Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy, President of The Interfaith Alliance (TIA).
"The sacred scriptures of many different faith traditions speak with one voice on the subject of intolerance. If we aspire to be true to the core of our religious traditions, we cannot condemn hate and then sit idly by while it destroys our communities. We believe that religious and civil rights groups, law enforcement, and government must work to ensure that all people are safe as well as free.
"While a few religious voices, wrongly claiming to represent the view of all religious people, continue attempts to defeat hate crimes legislation, those of us who value religious diversity and practice interfaith cooperation must not waver in sending a unified message condemning prejudice and supporting this legislation."
Current law permits federal prosecution of a hate crime only if the crime was motivated by bias based on race, religion, national origin, or ethnicity, and the assailant intended to prevent the victim from exercising a "federally protected right." The expanded legislation would permit federal involvement in the prosecution of bias-motivated crimes based on the victim's gender, sexual orientation, or disability.
The proposed law would empower federal prosecutors to act in concert with local police and provide funding to these officials to assist with investigations. A broader federal law will also help make up for the inadequacy and absence of inclusive hate crimes laws in many states and municipalities.
Since 1996, TIA has worked to educate religious leaders and all people of faith and goodwill on this important civil rights legislation. ###
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