Yes, I know the Specter switch is important...but there are other important things going on in the world right now, too. The House is scheduled to vote on the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act (aka the Matthew Shepard Act, aka HR 1913) TOMORROW. The bill made it out of the Judiciary Committee and is scheduled for a full vote in the House, and it's time for us to go to work. Call your representative NOW and urge them to vote yes.
CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVE RIGHT NOW. THE HOUSE SWITCHBOARD IS 866-346-4611.
Follow me over the jump for factoids, talking points and action items!
CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVE RIGHT NOW. THE HOUSE SWITCHBOARD IS 866-346-4611.
What is the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act?
The bill would give jurisdiction to the US Department of Justice in hate crime cases, defined as a crime motivated by a person's actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability. In doing so, it adds sexual orientation and gender identity to existing hate crimes laws and allows local law enforcement agencies to transfer responsibility in these cases to federal authorities.
The bill has been proposed several times, and passed in the House in 2007 by a vote of 237-180. The Senate version was tacked on to a DoD appropriations bill, and eventually withdrawn amid opposition from Republicans (the Senate version was reintroduced today, with sponsors including Ted Kennedy, Olympia Snowe, Patrick Leahy, Susan Collins, and yes, Arlen Specter). Now that we have a Democratic Senate, a Democratic House and a Democratic president, the bill seems destined for easy passage...but that doesn't mean we can rest on our laurels.
CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVE RIGHT NOW. THE HOUSE SWITCHBOARD IS 866-346-4611.
Conservative Christians are all over this one. They say it is designed to make opposition to homosexuality a "thought crime", but the truth is that the bill only punishes violent acts, not violent thoughts. They say it will muzzle clergy, but it does no such thing. The bill is only designed to combat violent bias-motivated crimes. Right now they're flooding the House switchboard, and we need to fight back.
CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVE RIGHT NOW. THE HOUSE SWITCHBOARD IS 866-346-4611.
Call your friends, family and neighbors and encourage them to call their representative. Then, GET ON THE PHONE. CALL NOW.
Steps to take RIGHT NOW:
- Recommend this diary (of course)!
- Read these facts from the Human Rights Campaign.
- Call now!
- Call three friends and ask them to call now!
- Follow the discussion on Twitter by using the #fighthatenow hashtag.
- CALL NOW!!
CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVE RIGHT NOW. THE HOUSE SWITCHBOARD IS 866-346-4611.