PETITION CLOSED

  • The time period for signing this petition has ended.
Urge your Senators to support/co-sponsor (S. 909), The LLEHCPA / Matthew Shepard Act
  1. Signatures
    110 out of 1,000
    Petitioning
    1. The President of the United States (+ 1 other)
      Petitioning
      close
      • The President of the United States
      • The U.S. Senate
  2. Created By
    Ryan M.
    Chicago, IL
About this Petition Petition Letter

"There is ample evidence that violent, bias motivated crimes are a widespread and serious problem in our nation. It is not the frequency or number of these crimes alone that distinguish these acts of violence from other types of crime; it is the impact these crimes have on the victims, their families, their communities and, in some instances, the nation. Evidence indicates that hate crimes are underreported; however, statistics show that since 1991 over 100,000 hate crime offenses have been reported to the FBI, with 7,624 reported in 2007, the FBI’s most recent reporting period."

"Violent crimes based on sexual orientation constituted 16.6 percent of all hate crimes in 2007, with 1,265 reported for the year. The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP), a non-profit organization that tracks bias incidents against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people, reported 1,833 incidents for 2007 from only 14 jurisdictions, compared to the 2025 agencies reporting to the FBI in 2007."

"A December 2001 report by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a nonprofit organization that monitors hate groups and extremist activity in the United States, went so far as to say that the system for collecting hate crimes data in this nation is "in shambles." SPLC estimates that the real number of hate crimes being committed in the United States each year is likely closer to 50,000, as opposed to the nearly 8,000 reported by the FBI."

There is ample info and reports that urges such legislation to quickly and swiftly pass and be signed into law. Here are a few news reports with more evidence and call to action to support, vote and pass such hate crimes legislation.

----- http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iMOzzJsP-MVqKUTzifzW2AW8esFgD991S5K00

----- http://www.towleroad.com/2009/07/rep-filner-believes-seamans-murder-a-hate-crime.html

----- http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid94973.asp

----- http://www.redding.com/news/2009/jul/02/victim-says-homophobia-still-a-major-problem-in/

PLEASE sign this petition and urge your Senators to support, co-sponsor and pass (S. 909), The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act / Matthew Shepard Act.

 

 

 

 

Recent Signatures

Hate Crimes Bill

Dear Representative

As your constituent, I am writing to express my strong support for the Matthew Shepard Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Protection Act (S.909). I hope you'll do everything in your power to pass it.

This bill, which passed both houses of Congress in 2007 but did not become law, would protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people from bias-motivated hate violence.

While all violent crimes are heinous, hate crimes are uniquely destructive, casting a pall of terror over an entire community. They don't just target a single victim. They are designed to "send a message" that an individual and "their kind" will not be tolerated, often leaving large numbers of people feeling isolated, vulnerable and unprotected.

Attacks against LGBT people are one of the more common forms of hate violence but, illogically, one of the least protected. Hate crimes as a whole declined 1 percent last year, according to the FBI, but LGBT hate crimes increased 6 percent.

It's long past time that we expand federal hate crimes law to cover sexual orientation and gender identity. And we must give local law enforcement officials the resources needed to investigate and prosecute these crimes.

Please protect civil rights by giving this bill your full support and attention, and by urging your colleagues to support it as well.

[Your name]

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