Leadership Conference on Civil Rights
Press Release
April 29, 2009
Contact: Maggie Kao (202) 466-2735
Statement of Wade Henderson, President of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights
Washington, D.C. – The Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR), the nation’s largest civil and human rights coalition, released the following statement on today’s House passage of the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009 (H.R. 1913):
“We once again applaud the House’s bipartisan passage of this important civil rights law.
Today’s House vote is a victory for more than 300 civil rights, human rights, religious, and law enforcement organizations, who have come out in support of the bill.
Most importantly, it is a victory for those who may find themselves targeted because of the color of their skin, their gender identity, sexual orientation, gender, or disability. It is a victory for the families of victims of hate crimes – people like Angie Zapata of Colorado, Luis Ramirez of Pennsylvania, Billy Ray Johnson of Texas, and Matthew Shepard of Wyoming.
The right to be protected and the right to be safe and free from physical harm or intimidation, is probably the most fundamental of all the civil and human rights.
Today, the House has sent a clear message that Americans do not have to live in fear. We look forward to swift Senate action.”
# # #
The Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR) is the nation’s oldest, largest, and most diverse civil and human rights coalition. For more information on LCCR and its more than 200 member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.
No comments:
Post a Comment