hate crimes

It is important that we take individual responsibility for our actions, but it is equally vital that we hold other accountable for their behaviors as well.

This Act would also provide much-needed resources for local law enforcement agencies, so they can investigate and prosecute hate crimes. This is not an issue of condoning behaviors that conflict with moral values, it is a question of controlling the destructive bigotry that tears at the social fabric of our society.

This legislation has long been supported by 31 state Attorneys-General, former U.S. Attorney General Dick Thornburgh, the National District Attorneys Association, the National Sheriffs Association, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the Police Executive Forum and many other law enforcement organizations.

Please vote for the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act. I ask that you understand that for my wife and myself, this is not only a question of principle, but of personal safety.

We have no desire to force others to accept the viability of our lives, but we demand that their beliefs should not be used as justification to imperil our bodies, homes and livelihoods. This act, in our opinion provides the tools to create an equality that is both desperately needed, and sorely lacking.