Attorney General Urges New Hate Crimes Law

In Wake Of Recent Killings, Holder Cites Need To Stop "Violence Masquerading As Political Activism"

(CBS/AP)  Attorney General Eric Holder said Tuesday that recent killings show the need for a tougher U.S. hate crimes law to stop "violence masquerading as political activism."

"Over the last several weeks, we have witnessed brazen acts of violence, committed in places that many would have considered unthinkable," Holder told the Washington Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs.

He cited separate attacks over a two-week period that killed a young soldier, an abortion provider and a guard at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Federal agents and prosecutors are already involved in the local investigations of each attack.

The violence, he said, "reminds us of the potential threat posed by violent extremists and the tragedy that ensues when reasoned discourse is replaced by armed confrontation."

In order to stop that violence, he said, Congress should past an updated version of hate crimes legislation, in order to more effectively prosecute those who commit violent attacks based on gender, disability, or sexual orientation.

The growing number of hate crimes against Hispanics also shows the need for tougher laws, Holder said.

"We will not tolerate murder, or the threat of violence, masquerading as political activism," Holder said. "So let me be clear, the Justice Department will use every tool at its disposal to protect the rights ensured under our Constitution."

Earlier, a leading civil rights coalition says there has been an increase in white supremacist activity since the election of the first African-American president.

The Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Education Fund reported Tuesday that the economic downturn and fear of immigrants also contributed to the increase.

The report comes a week after a white supremacist killed a security guard at the U.S. Holocaust Museum.

The coalition reported the U.S. now averages a hate crime nearly every hour of every day. A special concern is the rising number of hate crimes committed against Hispanics and gays.

Separately, a national advocacy group says the number of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people killed in bias-motivated incidents increased by 28 percent in 2008 compared to 2007.

The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs released its report Tuesday. It says last year's 29 killings is the highest it has recorded since 1999. It documented the same number of slayings then.

The New York-based coalition says the overall number of victims who reported gay bias violence in 2008 increased by 2 percent.

The coalition says its figures are more accurate than those from law enforcement agencies. As an example, the group says the FBI doesn't record bias crimes against transgender people because gender identity isn't covered by federal hate-crime law.

Last week, CBS News correspondent Bob Orr reported that in the past eight years, the number of hate groups in America has exploded - up 50 percent - from 602 in 2000 to 926 last year.

[blog_fever2]

This is good. I think there should be a hate crimes law and it should apply to all people. You do not have to like everyone, but we do have to get along. To commit a crime against someone for no reason other than hate is ridiculous. This is 2009 people. Let's grow up.

[endurorob]

by woeisme1 June 17, 2009 4:21 AM PDT
What you people do not seem to understand is there IS a difference between the guy who would cut my throat because I may be gay and the guy who cuts my throat for $20.00.

The guy who robs me wants MY $20. He is a robber, a thief. The guy who wants to cut ALL gays throats hates EVERYONE in that group. His hate endangers far more people and is not random like a petty thief, but organized and deliberate as opposed to a crime of opportunity like a petty thief.

This really is'nt too hard to understand.


Thats just ignorant. There are many more people murdered for money or other items than are murdered because of race or sexual orientation.... Just because you are gay or a minority does not make your life more valuable.

[woeisme1]

Theres nothing ignorant about my post at all. Let me repeat this as simply as I can for all you right wing radicals who struggle with logic.

Hate crimes are designed for those who would kill on a mass scale if they could. A robber will rob only when he needs. A racists or a fascists will kill based on an ideology that ALL people in a segment of society deserve to be killed, and he/she will continue to kill. Is a serial killer worse than someone who commits manslaughter? Of course! That is why the person committing the hate crime is more a threat to more people. And that is why we need hate crime laws.

You right wing radicals are very paranoid of this...why? I am suspicious of you guys. I hope the FBI, SS, CIA and everyone is keeping a close eye on you people. You're weird.

[lloydbest1]

"Thats just ignorant. There are many more people murdered for money or other items than are murdered because of race or sexual orientation.... Just because you are gay or a minority does not make your life more valuable."

It's not about the money. It's not about catching someone in bed with your wife. It's not about vehicular homocide or any of the almost limitless ways we can kill each other through malice.
We are talking about IDEOLOGICAL crimes. These are the very worst sort. Bobby Cutts, a black ex-police officer, was sentenced to prison for killing his white girlfriend. What he did was unconscionable and he deserved worse than he got. But the point here is he went after only one white. And that one was an intimate. As far as I know he doesn't hate whites in general enough to slaughter them at random or en masse.
There's your difference between "ordinary" crime and hate motivated crime the has the same end result. The criminal motivated by hate wants to kill ALL (or as many as he can) Whites, Blacks, Christians, Gays, Cops - whatever BECAUSE of those characteristics. That is what makes an ideological crime; a hate crime so much more reprehensible.
No, "Just because you are gay or a minority does not make your life more valuable" but it doesn't make it less so, either. And that is what the hate criminal believes.

[gunownerdan]

Please learn about the hateful and racist roots of gun control in America.
Watch "NO GUNS FOR NEGROES" for free at......
JPFO.org

"Free people can own guns, slaves can not."

[woeisme1]

What on earth do guns and slaves have to do with this thread at all? I think you're the one with hateful and racist roots.

[endurorob]

So ley me get this straight. If someone cuts your throat because you are gay they should get harsher punishment than if they cut your throat because they want the $20 in your wallet? Is that correct?

[woeisme1]

What you people do not seem to understand is there IS a difference between the guy who would cut my throat because I may be gay and the guy who cuts my throat for $20.00.

The guy who robs me wants MY $20. He is a robber, a thief. The guy who wants to cut ALL gays throats hates EVERYONE in that group. His hate endangers far more people and is not random like a petty thief, but organized and deliberate as opposed to a crime of opportunity like a petty thief.

This really is'nt too hard to understand.

[endurorob]

mnbrant June 16, 2009 8:49 PM PDT
California violent crimes
REPORTED TOTAL MURDER=2,503 RAPE=9,392 ROBBERY=63,622 ASSAULT=114,661

United States violent crimes
REPORTED TOTAL MURDER=16,692 RAPE=93,934 ROBBERY=417,122 ASSAULT=862,947

Percentage of violent crime committed in the good ole state of California.
Murder=12.51% RAPE=10% ROBBERY=66% ASSAULT=25%

Does this mean we build a wall around California to save ourselves? At the risk of sounding radical I say NO. Even though they won't pass tax increases to pay their own way and expect govt to give them a bailout

First off a couple of your numbers are wrong. For robbery Cal accounts for about 15% and for assault they account for about 13%. Now considering California accoutns for more thatn 12% of the population the numbers are not a surprise.

[pensacola8-2009]

I applaud Attorney General Eric Holder for his initiative to fill in the critical missing piece to providing domestic security.

It has been very clear that several radical groups have infected communities with violence under the umbrella of 501C3 (Non Profit Groups).

It has been very clear that gang violence has a competitor with organized crime coming from radical religoius (501C3) groups.

I had dinner in a restaurant just this evening and learned about a church in Tennessee that was actually a front and serving organized crime by performing money laundering services.

The country side in the south is littered with numerous phony churches who evade tax payment and contribute to organized crime.

[mnbrant]

Huh? You talking about Bennie Hinn and Creflo Dollar?

[summarex]

I'm a hispanic
We don't need new hate crimes laws.
All we need is for our second amendment
rights to be respected so we can protect
ourselves like everybody else, particulasrly
in gun free gulags like NYC.

[mnbrant]

Hey I have never owned a gun or even seen one outside of law enforcement in the neighborhood I live in. I do live across the street from the police station so I guess that makes a difference. We are friends with the mexicans across the hall from us. I live in the frozen north so that may be why there are no gun-toting people around.

[mnbrant]

California violent crimes
REPORTED TOTAL MURDER=2,503 RAPE=9,392 ROBBERY=63,622 ASSAULT=114,661

United States violent crimes
REPORTED TOTAL MURDER=16,692 RAPE=93,934 ROBBERY=417,122 ASSAULT=862,947

Percentage of violent crime committed in the good ole state of California.
Murder=12.51% RAPE=10% ROBBERY=66% ASSAULT=25%

Does this mean we build a wall around California to save ourselves? At the risk of sounding radical I say NO. Even though they won't pass tax increases to pay their own way and expect govt to give them a bailout

28 deaths due to hate crimes unspecified. lets look at the percentages compared to California. I don't know how to add but I think its .0018% correct me if I am wrong. Other crimes unspecified oh well.

To make a long story short Ruby Ridge and other acts the intelligence community and govt perpetrated on these guys made the Dems lose and propelled me to become right wing for a number of years. All you CIA types and Community activist Stasi type people mass blogging this blog. Ask yourself this what you ban. A college group promoting white culture and ideas accepting people of all races who have an interest to come, and who as a group have commited no crime, or a group of players from the basketball team who commit gang rape. If your CIA or Stasi I know what you will answer will be. As far as I know there are no precogs out there who can predict who will commit a violent crime. Except me heh.

[haymann]

American's are under attack by those who want to institute mind control on use with so called hate crime laws. Hate crime law is away to keep whites under the thumb of this new government that has allowed our jobs to go to China, making them rich and us poor. They have also allowed Mexican's invade our country and take our jobs, dock work, shipping and receiving, construction jobs. And now trucking jobs are being threatened by Mexican's, they have already been taken by other thrid world people.

This attorney general wants to institute gun control also. So what we have here is an attack on our constitutional rights by people in our own government. They are attacking our 2nd amendment right so as to make difficult for us to protect ourselves from them. And they are also attacking our free speech to make it impossible for us to voice our anger and discontent. If they try and go through with this it is an "act of war" on American citizens. This attorney General is a threat to American Citizen's.

[lloydbest1]

"And they are also attacking our free speech to make it impossible for us to voice our anger and discontent."

Nah! if that were true, your post would already have been deleted. It's been up about 40 minutes, now and if Obama and his henchmen really were after you and your soulmates there would already be cops on your front doorstep.
Get this, no reasonable person will do any worse than call you bad names in public IF all you do is talk or write. You have said a lot I find personally insulting and objectionable but, leftist troll that I am, I find nothing that is worthy of any more action than disapproval. Just as you have a right to your opinions, so do I.
Relax, man... With all the krap going on now, no one is about to take away your guns or tell you you can't write disparaging stuff about Mexicans or whatever your target of the day might be.
I can't stress this enough. You can yap. You can write letters. You can demonize people you don't like in pretty destructive terms; the constitution allows all that. that's clear cut and not subject to debate. It is ONLY when you or anyone decides to take unilateral action outside the law, someone such as von Brunn for example, that the authorities are apt to get p!ssed and come after you with the handcuffs and tasers.

[mnbrant]

Naw he's mostly right. You can tell by his use of specifics that he actually has read something or heard something. Mind control-- I think he means thought crimes-- an Orwellian term. Hate crimes--topic of this article. Jobs to China? No arguement there. Mexicans in dock work, shipping and recieving, construction jobs, trucking? No arguement there other than those jobs are harder lower paid jobs. I would differ on gun control--I am for that. Attacking free speech--yeah if you have the wrong kind of free speech this Holder seems willing to go after that. If they actually go through with this is it an act of war?--possibly...

[billpl-2009]

a crime is a crime and all are created equal

if there's a pattern or a specific group causing it, fine, let law enforcement investigate it
that's why we have them

if the crime is more serious or has special circumstances, fine, let the jury weigh in and stiffen the sentence
that's why we have them

to have a bunch of old crows sitting around a conference table on the government time clock, telling us what's wrong and right, is a waste
that's why we don't need them

[fred-mertz]

"Terrorists and other violent extremists will always prefer unarmed and defenseless victims." - gunownerdan

No, dan. GUN OWNERS, cowards that they all are, will always prefer unarmed and defenseless victims! See, a gun won't do you any good at all if someone else comes to kill you and they have a gun and it's armed and aimed and the safety is off. They shoot first... you die. Your gun is useless.

Furthermore, no one is "defenseless" simply because they don't carry a gun. The best defense is to NOT MAKE ENEMIES. The second best defense is to NOT BE THERE WHEN YOUR ENEMY ARRIVES. A gun doesn't even make the list of possible "defenses". A gun is WORTHLESS for defense. A gun is designed to do ONE thing, and only one thing: to KILL. That's NOT a "defensive act". It is the violently agressive act of a coward.

But there's GOOD NEWS: the number 1 fatal use of guns in this country is NOT killing criminals to "defend yourself", it is NOT being killed by criminals, it is NOT anything the NRA will tell you about. The number 1 fatal use of guns by gun owners is SUICIDE. That's what guns are REALLY GOOD FOR, to kill yourself. Next to that, they're also great for killing your kids or your wife or her new "friend" or your neighbors-- you know, the kinds of things CRIMINALS AND CRAZY PEOPLE DO. Why, guns are just GREAT at killing people, no matter who those people happen to be, whether they are criminals, passersby, or your intimate family members! So, go ahead, dan. We're waiting for YOU to become the next statistic. There's no doubt, that's where you're headed.

[kesac4650]

We already have laws making murder a capitol crime. Laws that we seemingly will not enforce. What good is another law that holds the same penaly as the one we never use now?

[fred-mertz]

The point is NOT that we need more laws to make murder a capitol crime. We need laws that allow the government to SHUT DOWN the hate groups that inspire and encourage lunatics to hate and kill. Operation Rescue comes to mind. They had a "Tiller Watch" web site that stalked Dr. Tiller. They told anyone who would listen that he was a "mass murderer" and a "baby killer". They trained people to harass and intimidate and threaten people and interfere with lawful acts by law-abiding citizens. After one of their loonies murdered Dr. Tiller, they said, "He deserved it" and they encouraged their followers to kill every other person on their "hit list". THAT is most definitely a criminal, terrorist organization! Current laws have NOT been effective at shutting them down because they claim, as Holder mentioned, that they are just "political activists" when they are, in fact, a violent hate-group that encourages, sanctiones, and condones murder in the name of their cause... THEY ARE TERRORISTS!

[mnbrant]

HMM operation Rescue a terrorist organization? lets go check

[mnbrant]

Yeah its got a person there who bombed an abortion clinic in 88. and now this guy who killed Tillman had some connection to them. Maybe if your pro-life just spend your time and money elsewhere even though it has a cool name. I am pro-lifer who thinks most late-term abortions are murder. Didn't they just have a late term abortionist who, having accidently delivered a baby who was to be aborted, just cut the umbilical cord allowing it to bleed to death in the trash can. Heck even the cow who escapes from the slaughterhouse has more rights.

[johninpennsyl]

Remember,people-only Whitey can hate.
If you happen to be killed or mugged by a minority....don't take it personal.

[Rebel_Rebel]

That is ridiculous!

[cbsblogger]

Quote: "A special concern is the rising number of hate crimes committed against Hispanics and gays."

I don't know what fantasy news these guys are reading or watching but I see huge numbers of violent crimes committed by those with Hispanic sounding names every day. In most cases of street or violent crime the perp is either black or Hispanic. The incarceration rates reflect that. 75% of those incarcerated are black or Hispanic.

http://books.google.com/books?id=xc-YEVDhC0MC&pg=PA35&lpg=PA35&dq=hispanic+and+black+incarceration+rate&source=bl&ots=NUohJfoWj7&sig=8hK-duerGX_A6s4nyq6TR8o-Bm4&hl=en&ei=FUU4SovlD9KEtwfaz7TVDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4

[IrishWench01]

There have been hate crimes in this country for 2 centuries. They are nothing new and they will not end in my lifetime I'm sure.

[cbsblogger]

Freedom of speech means the ability to say what is on our mind. Some may not like what we say because it may be critical or derogatory but we still have that right. It should concern us when we hear the government saying that we shouldn't have the right to be critical and truthful. The demarcation between freedom of speech and hate crime should be physical attack or violence. Anything else is subject to mind reading and interpretation.

[IrishWench01]

by bannedbystuart123 June 16, 2009 6:05 PM PDT
But it's not hard to find you stuart.

You, irish, and gravy have the whole board to yourselves. How cozy.

Here's the deal stuart.

Every time you banish me, you get another login id reporting you.

Say bye-bye to all your pretty posts.

Buh buy stuart.
..............

What on Earth is wrong with you and who were you to start with?

[lloydbest1]

OK, here's the deal. I've mentioned this before but it needs repeating:

Context IS important, in fact it is vital. Earlier today, lawgal1 had this to say to Eric Holder: "Somehow your reasoning (or lack thereof) breaks down to this: it is worse to kill a person because of a political [or racial] agenda than it is to kill someone for no reason or for money."
It IS worse; MUCH worse. Granted the victim is just as dead as (s)he would have been if it were an "ordinary" crime and it is easy to make the case that all murder is motivated by hate to some extent. I am not arguing that, but consider:

If I whack someone not of my race (or whatever) because I had a "jones" on and needed the drug money or because that individual attacked my spouse and I was too vigorous in her defense or because he was in the crosswalk and I was too stupid drunk to yield and ran over him; what I did was still homocide, still reprehensible and still would render me liable to a stiff prison sentence.
But.....
If I killed someone not of my race (and let's use "race") solely because of that someone's race then there is a new level of odium attached to the crime. The extra condemnation and the additional aggrivating circumstance does not come from the act but the reason behind it. This is why I said above that context is important. If I kill someone solely because of his race, then I am operating from an ideology whose core values allow me to consider that such a superficial characteristic as skin color renders anyone who is that color so unworthy that killing him is acceptable, even virtuous.
I do not necessarily believe more hate crime laws are the answer but those laws do not exist to punish the act but to punish the ideology. That is why they are so important

[armyoftwelve]

The Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Education Fund reported Tuesday that the economic downturn and fear of immigrants also contributed to the increase.

Right, so the problem isn't a lack of laws or a need for new laws. We need to get the economy going by ending the export of jobs to China and we need to crack down on illegal immigration.

I;m a naturalized American, and I think it's disgusting that there are MILLIONS of illegal residents in this country.

I also don't like it that "hate" crime laws make some murders or assaults more important than others because they are not!

[gravyboat3000]

by stn_sage June 16, 2009 5:05 PM PDT
WHAT?! Holder, I'd expect you to use better judgment than this!

The answer is not NEW LAWS---we have plenty of laws already, mister!

The answer is ENFORCEMENT---enforce the existing laws! Violence is violence! When you shoot someone it's classified as anything from murder in the first degree to aggravated assault!

When these 'nut-jobs' show up at a clinic yelling threats---enforce the law that says you can't threaten people! Got it, yet?! I mean---it's very simple stuff! When they break the law---call'em on it!

General law IS APPLICABLE to ALL PEOPLE'S---you don't need to make individual laws applied to personal demographics in the field of violent criminal behavior! You're wasting time!

What Mr.Holder and his staff should be working on is the investigation and prosecution of the previous administration for crimes against the nation and the world!

Well said, and I agree!

[gravyboat3000]

by IrishWench01 June 16, 2009 5:09 PM PDT
The perfect plants for your region! How goes the career endeavor?

Yep, and many of them have very lovely flowers, when in bloom. I'm becoming a cactus/suculent expert. :)

Career wise, not so good. I'm starting to apply, but there's not much out there.

Funny story, the unemployment people told me NOT to apply for jobs that are beneath my previous pay scale, as it would look like I'm not really trying to find work. lol Something about being over-qualified.

If I do, I'm to document what about my past experience qualifies me for that work.

No wonder California's going bankrupt, it's run by, and staffed by mental midgets.

I'm thinking of runnig for Gov.

I've never acted in a movie, and I've never taken steroids, but it's above my previous pay scale.

;-)

[IrishWench01]

Haaha! I think you running for Gov. is a good idea. I would vote for you if I could.

That is crazy about what the employment office told you and stupid! I would think they would be like the rest of us. Under-employed is better than unemployed. Of course, logic has never really dictated government or politics.