The brand of hate that fueled the murder of Denver radio host Alan Berg 25 years ago is, unfortunately, still alive and well in this country.
Berg, who was Jewish, was gunned down outside his Denver home in June 1984 by a white nationalist group infuriated not only by who he was, but by how he ridiculed them.
One need look no further than the evidence of anti-Semitism that emerged from the shooting at the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., for a recent example of such a twisted mindset.
These crimes and others, particularly the murder of gay University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard, graphically show why Congress should move expeditiously to expand federal hate-crimes legislation.
To be sure, all violent crimes are reprehensible, but hate crimes have a way of echoing through communities. Targeting a homosexual, a Jew or a person of color because of those qualities sends an intimidating message to others like them.
The vast majority of us who stand in horror at such acts must stand up to the purveyors of hate.
The Matthew Shepard Act would expand federal hate-crimes legislation to cover bias crimes targeting people because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
It would provide grants to help state and local authorities pursue a broad spectrum of hate crimes. And it would empower federal authorities to pursue cases if states asked for help or if they, for whatever reason, did not exercise their own authority.
The U.S. House passed the measure in April. President Obama has said he supports such a measure.
Last week, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he was committed to bringing expanded hate-crimes legislation to a Senate vote before the August recess.
It’s a long time coming, and we hope the measure gets the support it needs to become law.
Some social conservative groups have said the measure would muzzle religious groups that condemn homosexuality and provide legal cover for pedophiles under the theory that molesting children is a “sexual orientation.” Both of those assertions are baseless.
The non-partisan has this to say about those statements:
“In reality, there’s nothing in the bill that says pastors must zip their lips rather than denounce homosexuality, nor does it cover pedophiles, voyeurs, exhibitionists and dozens of other behaviors.”
Furthermore, the measure has significant support from a variety of law enforcement and civil rights organizations as well as religious groups.
We hope Congress, after years of foot-dragging and opposition from the Bush administration, will take this important step toward expanding protections for these minority groups.
