Leahy Lauds Passage Of Federal Anti-Hate Crimes Legislation

Travis Martinez - University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service

A decade of work done by the Senate culminated in the passing of Federal hate crimes legislation on Thursday. The legislation now heads to President Barack Obama’s desk where it will await his signature.

The fight, which began almost 11 years ago, was a long-time priority of the late Senator Edward Kennendy (D-Mass.), who worked closely with Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) to finally advance the bipartisan Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act.

Said Leahy, "This historic hate crimes provision will improve existing law by making it easier for Federal authorities to investigate and prosecute crimes of racial, ethnic, or religious violence.”

Senator Carl Levin (D-Mich.), Chairman of the Senate Armed Forces Committee, defended his reasoning for including the provision within the Defense bill.

“This is domestic terrorism... When you attack someone because of membership in a group, you are attacking this country itself. This belongs in the Defense Reauthorization Bill!” he exclaimed.

Both Senators also responded to recent actions by Senate Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to include a public option in the Senate’s health care bill. The Senators argued that a public option was very important in that it would represent progress in the legislation, but noted that any such provision must include an op-out for states, which they said would promote competition.

Von Brunn To Be Charged With Homicide, Possibly Hate Crimes

By Learned Foote- Talk Radio News Service

On Wednesday at 12:50 p.m., 88-year-old James Whittaker Von Brunn opened fire immediately upon entering the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C. He shot and killed 39-year-old Stephen Tyrone Johns, a special police officer who died later that day.

Joseph Persichini, Assistant Director in charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, said that Von Brunn's act may be charged as a hate crime in addition to homicide. “We know what Mr. Von Brunn did yesterday at the Holocaust Museum,” he said during a press conference today. “Now it’s our responsibility to determine why he did it. We have to ask ourselves, did all these years of public display of hatred impact his actions?”

Johns had opened the door of the museum for Von Brunn, said Cathy L. Lanier, Chief of Police with the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia. After Von Brunn shot Johns, other police officers standing near the entrance quickly returned fire. Washington, D.C. mayor Adrian M. Fenty, who also attended the press conference, acknowledged the heroism of law-enforcement officials. “Their efforts yesterday to bring this gunmen down literally saved the lives of countless people,” he said. “This could have been much, much worse.”

James Von Brunn remains in critical condition.

Persichini said that the FBI did not have an open investigation on Von Brunn at the time of the shooting. However, FBI investigators were aware of Von Brunn’s activities as an anti-Semite and a white supremacist.

“Law-enforcement’s challenge every day is to balance the civil liberties of the United States citizen against the need to investigate activities that might lead to criminal conduct,” Persichini said. He said that expressing opinions is not a crime, and that “many of these individuals are totally aware of what you can and cannot say in crossing the line which would initiate a domestic terrorism investigation.”

The FBI and MPD are continuing investigations of the crimes. As a convicted felon, Von Brunn could not legally possess a firearm, and Lanier said that law-enforcement officials would investigate as to how he obtained the weapon. Persichini said that any person who has information concerning Mr. Von Brunn should contact the FBI as soon as possible. “We will do everything possible, not only to stop Mr. Von Brunn, but the other Mr. Von Brunns that are around here in this nation today,” he said.

Mayor Fenty assured that “[The city] will get past this. The arrests have been made and the district remains an open, safe city for tourists and visitors.”