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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Office of Public Information JCPA Hails Senate Passage Of Federal Hate Crimes Prevention Act July 23, 1999 - New York, NY - The Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA) today highly praised the passage of the Hate Crimes Prevention Act (HCPA) in the Senate last night. The Act, which was unanimously passed with strong bipartisan support, was incorporated into the Commerce, State, Justice Appropriations Bill, S. 1217. The HCPA serves two functions: it removes needless barriers to federal prosecution of hate crimes, and it extends protections of the law to individuals persecuted because of their sexual orientation, gender or disability. The June 18 fire bombings of three synagogues in Sacramento and the July 2 racially and ethnically-motivated shooting spree in the Midwest remind Americans that pockets of aggressive and violent acts of hatred and bigotry still persist in American society. Though the Act may not wholly thwart hate crimes, it sends an incisive message that crimes motivated by prejudice will not be tolerated in our society. "Bias-motivated crimes committed against any individual," said JCPA Chair, Steven Schwarz said, "hurt not only that individual but also threaten the basic tenets underlying American civil liberties." The JCPA strongly urges the House of Representatives to swiftly match the encouraging action of the Senate when the legislation is introduced in the coming weeks. ###
The Jewish Council for Public Affairs is the public affairs body of the organized Jewish community and serves as the national coordinating and advisory body for the 13 national and 122 community agencies which comprise the field of Jewish community relations. |
