Law and Order

Press Release

On December 7, 1903, in his third State of the Union Address to Congress, Theodore Roosevelt stated, "No man is above the law, and no man is below it; nor do we ask any man's permission when we require him to obey it. Obedience to the law is demanded as a right; not asked as a favor." The words that the President spoke that day still echo throughout the halls of America's court buildings-federally, state-wide and locally. Equal justice under the law is a constitutional principle of the American justice system, but last week, Congress passed the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act which could threaten this principle that for centuries has steered our country in a just direction.

I strongly believe that every violent crime should be treated justly according to the crime, not the social status, race, sexual orientation or ethnicity of the victim. Justice should be blind to the personal traits of victims, and all people should have equal worth in the eyes of the law.

Under this bill, which passed the House by a vote of 237 to 180, criminals who kill someone in a protected category, such as sexual orientation, race or ethnicity, will be punished more harshly than a criminal who kills a police officer, a member of the military, a child or any other person. Both crimes should be judged based on the crime that was committed, but this bill allows the crimes to be judged based on the personal traits of the victims. I believe this is fundamentally wrong and flies in the face of the concept of equal justice under the law.

In addition, this bill threatens our First Amendment rights by opening the door to criminal investigation of religion, philosophy and politics. For example, members of a religious group may be called as witnesses to provide testimony about the ideas that may have influenced the defendant's thoughts or motivations. This could have a chilling effect on religious groups afraid of expressing their beliefs because of fear of involvement in the criminal process.

The Hate Crimes Bill that the Majority in Congress passed through the House is unnecessary. The underlying offenses that this bill addresses are already fully and aggressively prosecuted in all 50 states. I will continue to support strong criminal penalties for violent crime; however, I believe this bill is unjust, unnecessary and unconstitutional. I am confident our President will feel the same way and will veto this misguided legislation. If he does, I will vote to uphold his decision.

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