Hate Crimes Expansion
Added to Bill
By JIM ABRAMS, AP
from washingtonpost.com on the Web, September 15, 2005
WASHINGTON -- Supporters of
expanding hate crime law to include acts of violence against gays and lesbians
scored a surprise win in the House, boosting their hopes on an issue repeatedly
blocked in Congress.
With the help of 30 Republicans, House Democrats on Wednesday pushed through a
measure that would add sexual orientation, gender and disability to protections
covered by federal hate crime law. Under current law, the federal
government assists local and state authorities prosecuting limited types of
crimes based on the victim's race, religion or ethnic background.
Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., offered the measure, which passed 223-199, as an
amendment to legislation strengthening the monitoring of and increasing
penalties for child sex offenders.
Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay
rights group, said it was an "incredibly historic vote" that could give momentum
to similar action in the Senate.
"This legislation is long overdue," said House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi.
"All Americans have a fundamental right to feel safe in their communities."
The Senate last year voted to give gays and lesbians protection under federal
hate crime law, but conservatives succeeded in blocking House agreement.
The sex offender bill, with the hate crimes measure, sailed through the House on
a 371-52 vote, and now heads to the Senate.
The legislation strengthens sex offender registration and notification programs,
creates a national Web site where the public can track sex offenders and
establishes federal mandatory minimum sentences both for sex crimes and the
failure of sex offenders to report on their whereabouts.
It requires felony offenders to register for life and authorizes the death
penalty for sex crimes resulting in the killing of a child. House
Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., said it responds to a
situation where law enforcement officials can't locate some 100,000 of about
550,000 convicted sex offenders.
The White House, in a statement, expressed support, saying that even though sex
crimes against children have declined significantly in recent years, more needs
to be done. It noted that the legislation codified the online National Sex
Offender Public Registry that the Justice Department launched earlier this year.
Critics said it could further ostracize people who have paid for their crimes
and are trying to live normal lives. Out-of-jail offenders facing
harassment or unable to get jobs "may just go underground and not bother to
register again," said Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va.
Rep. Bob Inglis, R-S.C., offered an amendment to eliminate several mandatory
minimum sentences, including one creating a minimum penalty of five years and a
maximum of 20 years for offenders who fail to comply with registration
requirements. It was defeated, 316-106.
Among the many amendments accepted was one by Sensenbrenner that would help
local law officials find the estimated 15,000 sex offenders who may have
relocated as a result of Hurricane Katrina.
Another, by Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., provides for the civil
confinement of violent sex offenders deemed by a panel of experts as too
dangerous to return to society.
The bill also:
• Creates a national Web site and requires
states to notify the federal government of any changes to a sex offender's
registration information. States are required to notify each other when a
sex offender moves from one state to another.
• Requires each state to maintain a statewide
Internet site to include such information as an offender's address, picture,
vehicle and facts of his conviction.
• Broadens the category of sex offenders to
include any felony or misdemeanor sex offenses against minors. The
category of crimes covered by the bill is expanded to include juvenile sex
offenses and possession of child pornography.
• Requires felony sex offenders to register for
life, and misdemeanor sex offenders for 20 years.
• Creates a verification program under which a
sex offender must report by mail every 30 days.
• Requires criminal background checks of
prospective foster care families.
• Expands the use of DNA evidence to solve sex
crimes.
The bill is H.R. 3132.
|
