December 27, 2007
Good news and bad news on the hate crimes front:
The good news is that NJ lawmakers are considering a hate crimes statute that addresses two intransigent problems in our communities and schools.
The first is the tide of attacks aimed at people who are gay, lesbian, or trans-gendered. S2975 would amend the state’s once pioneering bias crime law to bring it in line with 11 other states that include “gender identity or expression” as a protected class. Jewish groups like the Anti-Defamation League are supporting the measure because they understand all too well the viral nature of hate aimed at any minority group or individual marked by difference.
The law would also create a Commission on Bullying in Schools, to address a growing problem of violence and intimidation by and against young people. Hardly a “natural” part of growing up, bullying is hatred with training wheels, and by failing to address it seriously, authorities are responsible for the bullies who graduate from schoolyard taunts to bias crimes.
The bad news is that an effort to expand the federal definition of hate crimes to include sexual orientation fell victim to White House cynicism and congressional gutlessness. The Matthew Shepard Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, named after the gay University of Wyoming student who was beaten to death in 1998, faced a veto from a president who felt it might send a bad message to the Religious Right. House leaders unwisely tied the measure to a Department of Defense Authorization bill, but in doing so diluted the support the act had enjoyed when it passed in the House and Senate by wide, bipartisan margins.
Judy and Dennis Shepard, Matthew’s parents, seemed to invoke a Jewish lesson when they voiced their disappointment that the act named for their son would not go forward.
“At this time of year that fills us all with hope for humankind, we are sad to find that a congressional majority of each House who have already adopted the Matthew Shepard Act cannot yet come together,” they said.
“If not here, where? If not now, when?”
