Sheriff Adrian Garcia

Locals hail signing of landmark hate crimes bill

Jewish Herald-Voice—November 6th, 2009

President Barack Obama, on Oct. 28, signed into law a new hate crimes bill that grants federal authorities wider-ranging jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute bias-motivated crimes. The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act is the most comprehensive and inclusive law passed in decades.

Previous hate crimes legislation imposes tougher penalties on criminals who target their victims because of race, religion or national origin. The new HCPA expands federal protections to include victims of crimes based on perceived sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or disability. In doing so, HCPA permits FBI involvement and support at the state level, thereby filling preexisting loopholes.

Like all hate crimes legislation, HCPA does not punish people for beliefs or speech; rather, its aim is to punish criminal actions.

The new bill is named for two high-profile victims of hate crimes: Matthew Shepard, a gay University of Wyoming student who was tortured and murdered in 1998; and James Byrd, Jr., a 49-year-old African-American who was brutally lynched in Jasper, Texas, the same year.

The Houston-based Anti-Defamation League Southwest Regional office hosted a press conference last Wednesday, lauding the landmark bill’s signing. The ADL was part of a broad coalition that championed the legislation, which was more than a dozen years in the making, and worked toward its passage.

Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia and FBI Special Agent Kristin Rehler, who supervises hate crime investigations, were among the law enforcement officials at the event. State Rep. Scott Hochberg, D-137, who has backed hate crimes legislation in Texas and praised the federal bill, also attended. They were joined by ADL leaders and local representatives from other civil rights organizations.

Present also were Albert and Laticia Galvin, parents of Spring, Texas, Latio teen David Ritcheson, who suffered severe beating, torture and sexual assault in a hate crime attack in April 2006. Ritcheson later took his own life, on July 1, 2007. A few months before, he testified before Congress in support of the expanded hate crimes bill. ADL helped organize Ritcheson’s crucial testimony.

“This really means a lot to us,” reflected Albert, in an interview with the JH-V. “I didn’t think it was ever going to get done. We just wish that David was here to see this. He did a lot, personally, to help get this bill passed, testifying before Congress.”

The victim’s mother, Laticia, added, “After David, the first thing I thought about was all the people who may go through a horror like this – now, they will have something on their side.”

The ADL’s Martin Cominsky, during the press conference’s opening, said that the HCPA sends a clear message that all Americans, regardless of background and persuasion, are protected by law.

“We herald this law as a new day in the fight against hate and bigotry, against all minorities,” Cominsky observed.

FBI Special Agent Kristin Rehler explained the necessity of having a federal hate crimes law that includes protection of the GLBT community. “More than 15 percent of all hate crimes reported over the past decade have involved the victims’ sexual orientation. It is the third most prevalent type of hate crime, following racial and religiously motivated crimes,” she pointed out.

Agent Rehler noted that the number of crimes based on sexual orientation recently increased to over 1,200 – the highest number in five years. “According to current FBI statistics, there is nearly one hate crime incident every hour of every day in this country,” she reported.

Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia said, “The Shepard-Byrd Act will give local law enforcement agencies needed federal support through training, or through direct assistance, to ensure that hate crime violence is investigated and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”

He continued, “The reality for the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, and law enforcement in this region and around the country, is that budgets are tight. And, public safety’s needs are extremely high. We need crime-fighting assistance wherever we can get it, and we welcome it from Washington, D.C.”

State Rep. Scott Hochberg spoke about the importance of having hate crimes legislation. Rep. Hochberg currently sits on the state’s appropriations committee, and has worked successfully to strengthen prosecution of skinhead gangs and other violent hate groups in Texas.

He noted that the new HCPA law, in particular, will aid prosecutors in smaller communities, who otherwise lack the resources and preparation to go after hate crime perpetrators. He added that the expanded legislation also will encourage prosecutors, who otherwise might be unwilling to act, to do so with assistance from the federal government.

“I get asked on regular occasions: Why are hate crimes different? Why have a special law for hate crimes?” Rep. Hochberg said. “We attempt to base our punishments on the impact that a crime has on its victims. When you have a hate crime, you’re talking about victims that are an entire community.

“If you look at something as simple as vandalism, writing ‘John loves Mary’ on a train trestle clearly is very different than drawing a swastika on the side of a synagogue. Burning a couple of sticks becomes a very different crime if those sticks are arranged into a cross and planted on somebody’s yard.

“So, the impact of hate crimes is huge – not only on the direct victim, but the entire community that they represent,” he pointed out.

Quoting from a nationwide ADL program that promotes respect and challenges prejudice and bigotry, Rep. Hochberg concluded, “What this acts says is not only Houston, not only Texas, but this nation will be ‘No Place for Hate.’”