As some of you may know, the House Judiciary Committee will be having a vote on Wednesday the 22nd about an important bill concerning hate crimes. It's the "Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, or Matthew Shepard Act" (i.e., HR 1913). So on this Wednesday, the Judiciary Committee in the House of Reps will be voting about: what to do with this significant bill. For instance, will they give it the greenlight? We need as many "yes's" as possible to mobilize this legislation & get a vote on it. In the following, I explain a bit more about the act and who are your reps that are voting. We can definitely use some help, and I will make it easy for you to make your voice heard, I promise!
In the picture below, you'll see a foto of Matthew Shepard - the man for whom this act was named. The legislation of this act is being largely sponsored by Chairman Conyers, but over 40 Representatives are co-sponsoring it. For some background info - I should say a bit more about Matthew Shepard. Matthew Shepard was a 21 year old man, who was violently beaten and left for dead by two homophobic men in Laramie, Wyoming on October 7th, 1998. Shortly after being left in the cold, tied to a fence, Matthew Shepard died. His killers had tortured him because he was gay, and "different from them." Those killers - Russell Henderson and Aaron McKinney - are currently behind bars, but their murder of Matthew is just 1 instance of a bigger problem. That problem being - that there are crimes that arise because of homophobia and other hate.
The larger question that arose from this horrific event was: How could we prevent these hate-crimes from ever happening again? The goal here became: To create stronger deterrents (more or less). So then The Matthew Shepard Act, H.R. 1913, would give those much-needed protections to lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people (LGBT people) by making the law more sensitive and friendly to LGBT life. However, the religious right is actively trying to stop this legislation because they don't care about lesbians, gays, bisexuals or transgender people. If you want more on this issue, look over at PamsHouseBlend.com, the blogger HappyCat explains how certain fundies are trying to hinder this legislation, which would thus make it easier to brutally beat up gays.
Already, another Kossack - Perfectstormer- has asked you to get involved, but I wanted to give you a few more details. The first big hurdle is getting this bill out of the Judiciary Committee and onto the floor of the House. As of right now, the Dems out-number the Repubs on the committee, but that doesn't mean anything. I still don't know what the composition of the board is like in terms of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) concerns. So I'm asking you - please contact your lawmakers - especially if they're on the Committee. The Dem committee members are listed below, and if you click on a name, you'll find the contact info. The Dems outnumber the Repubs here...
A. Chairman John Conyers (MI-14)
B. Rep. Howard Berman (CA-28)
C. Rep. Rick Boucher (VA-9)
D. Rep. Jerrold Nadler (NY-8)
E. Rep. Bobby Scott (VA-3)
F. Rep. Mel Watt (NC-12)
G. Rep. Zoe Lofgren (CA-16)
H. Rep. Dan Maffei (NY-25)
I. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-20)
J. Rep. Linda Sánchez (CA-39)
K. Rep. Adam Schiff (CA-29)
L. Rep. Anthony Weiner (NY-9)
M. Rep. Charles Gonzalez (TX-20)
N. Rep. Tammy Baldwin (WI-2)
O. Rep. Brad Sherman (CA-27)
P. Rep. Luis Gutierrez (IL-4)
Q. Rep. Pedro Pierluisi (PR)
R. Rep. Hank Johnson (GA-4)
S. Rep. Steve Cohen (TN-9)
T. Rep. Robert Wexler (FL-19)
U. Rep. Bill Delahunt (MA-10)
V. Rep. Maxine Waters (CA-35)
If your representative is a Republican, you can find their site by clicking on their district at This Page.
Here's a sample of what you can say to your lawmaker (i.e., cut & paste into the letter form)...
Dear Representative _ X _,
Good evening. Tonight, I am writing to ask for your help with an important bill that will be coming up in your Judiciary Committee soon. I'm speaking about H.R. 1913, which is the Matthew Shepard Act. I urge you to vote "Yea" on this piece of legislation because we need to ensure the civil rights of all Americans, including lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people. For too long, in this great country of ours, we have seen too much hate and violence against gays be tolerated, or swept under the rug. It's time now to help protect our fellow Americans and stand up for civil rights. Please help this legislation to reach the floor, and likewise, please encourage your fellow lawmakers to pass this important law. We will only be successful if we have your vote. Please stand with me and my family on this important matter. We need you support, and this is the right thing to do. Similarly, there is another piece of legislation - the United American Families Act, H.R. 1024, which also needs your support. This bill will unite lesbian and gay families in the context of immigration law, and it will be voted on soon. I ask you to please stand alongside me on these matters. Our country must break free of the bigotry that has plagued this wonderful nation. I understand that there are some ultra-religious groups who are trying to stop the Matthew Shepard Act, and so I urge you to stand up for equality. We need your help. Thank you.
Kindest regards,
_Your Name___