Assistant Attorney General Perez Testifies on the Need for ENDA

CivilRights.org
November 11, 2009 - Posted by Adam Lange

Enacting legislation that would prevent employers from discriminating against people on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity is a top priority for the Obama administration, according to Thomas Perez, assistant attorney general, Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.
"We cannot in good conscience stand by and watch unjustifiable discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals occur in the workplace without redress," Perez told members of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions at a hearing last week on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). "We have come too far in our struggle for 'equal justice under the law' to remain silent or stoic."
As head of the Civil Rights Division, Perez oversees the enforcement of federal laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender, disability, religion, and national origin, including the Voting Rights Act, the Fair Housing Act, the Americans With Disabilities Act.

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Remaining vigilant on civil rights

IndyStar.com
November 7, 2009
Indiana's latest cross-burning case illustrates challenge facing state and feds
By Jon Murrayjon.murray@indystar.com

Cross burnings may seem like a relic from a dark chapter in American history, but an incident in Indiana resulted this week in prison sentences of a year or more for three Muncie men.
At least two other Indiana cross-burning cases, in Muncie and Mishawaka, have been prosecuted in the past two years. All three were motivated by racism, federal prosecutors say.
During a Friday visit to Indianapolis, the top civil rights lawyer for the U.S. government pointed to those cases and increases in reported hate crimes as reason for vigilance. Thomas E. Perez, confirmed by the U.S. Senate last month as assistant attorney general for the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division, cited a recent expansion of the federal hate-crimes law as an important tool.
"Recent history here in Indiana and across the nation reminds us that we continue to have people who, frankly, have issues with the diversity of our country and with the inclusion that is our nation's strength," Perez said during a news conference with other federal officials, including acting U.S. Attorney Tim Morrison.
The case that ended this week was spurred by a cross set afire in a yard in July 2008 as a black family slept inside their home in a Muncie neighborhood. Sentenced Thursday were Richard LaShure, 41; his son, Richard Logue, 20; and Aaron Latham, 20.

Full Story: http://www.indystar.com/article/20091107/NEWS02/911070358/Authorities+cooperate+to+battle+crimes+of+hate

Nominee for Civil Rights Post Is Confirmed in Senate

CQ TODAY MIDDAY UPDATE
Oct. 6, 2009 – 1:48 p.m.

Thomas E. Perez, whose nomination to the nation’s top civil rights post was held up for more than six months by Republican opposition, won Senate confirmation Tuesday.
The Senate voted 72-22 to confirm Perez to be the assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department. President Obama nominated him in March.
Perez was a deputy assistant attorney general in the Civil Rights Division during the Clinton administration and special counsel to the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy , D-Mass.
Since 2007, Perez has served as Maryland’s secretary of labor, overseeing state programs on labor, workforce development and professional licensing.

Full Story: http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?parm1=5&docID=cqmidday-000003217224