Under the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, Congress has defined a hate crimes as "any act of violence against a person or property based on the victims' race, color, gender, national origin, religion, sexual orientation or disability."

But I am here today, Mr. Speaker, to talk about the victims of hate crimes that provide a real life definition.

• James Byrd, Jr., an African American male victim, chained to a pickup truck and dragged along a dirt road; murdered by supporters of a white supremist organization;

• Thanh Mai (pronounced Tan May), a Vietnamese-American victim who died from a split skull after being taunted, called a "gook," and struck to a cement floor;

• A Latino American family victimized by arsons who burned down their home after spray-painting racist messages on the walls;

• Women in Massachusetts victimized by a "sexual batterer" who was found to have violated the state's hate crime law for his bias crimes against women;

• Jewish children victimized by shootings at their Community Center by a man who had connections to an anti-semitic organization;

• And today, we remember Matthew Shepard, a 21-year old college student, who was brutally and savagely beaten, strapped to a fence like an animal, and left to die, all because of his sexual orientation.

These are only a few of the human faces that fell victim to intolerance, bias, and bigotry. In fact, FBI statistics reveal that in 1997, a total of 8,049 bias-motivated criminal incidents were reported. Of these incidents:

• 4,710 were motivated by racial bias;

• 1,385 by religious bias;

• 1,102 by sexual-orientation bias;

• 836 by ethnicity/national origin bias; and

• 12 by disability bias.

The number of incidents reported in my home state of Maryland was 335.

As we discuss this issue, I believe that there are two questions our nation must answer.

First, why should we care?
I submit to you today that we should care because our nation was built on a foundation of democracy and independence for all. Our Declaration of Independence states:

"We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness."

We all take pride in these words, but we all have a duty, as American people, to recognize that this principle applies to all of our nation's citizens regardless of their race or national origin, gender, sexual orientation, religion, or disability status.

As a cosponsor of the Celebrating One America Resolution that this House passed today by unanimous consent, sponsored by my good friend Charles Rangel, I believe that we should reach out across our differences in ethnicity, race, and religion to respect each other and to celebrate, in friendship and unity, one America. We must all remember that although we are a melting pot of various cultures, ideals, and physical makeups, we are all one human race.

As one 16-year old recently wrote:

He prayed -- it wasn't my religion.
He ate -- it wasn't what I ate.
He spoke -- it wasn't my language.
He dressed -- it wasn't what I wore.
He took my hand -- it wasn't the color of mine.
But when he laughed -- it was how I laughed,
and when he cried -- it was how I cried.

The second question our nation must answer is "How can we put an end to hate violence?"
The American people must take action. A resolution will require a united and determined partnership of elected officials, law enforcement entities, businesses, community organizations, churches and religious organizations, and schools.

Congress must also take action. Yes, statistics have shed light on the prevalence of hate crimes in our society. However, hate crimes are often under reported. Although we gather significant information as a result of the Hate Crimes Statistics Act, this Act makes the reporting of hate crimes by state and local jurisdictions voluntary, leaving gaps in information from key jurisdictions. {For example, of the 100 most populous cities in the U.S., 10 did not participate in the reporting of hate crime data in 1997.} We should encourage all jurisdictions to collect, record, and report hate crime data so that we may have a true understanding of the depth and nature of this issue.

It is also our duty to ensure that our nation's laws fully protect all of its citizens. Current law includes a dual requirement which only allows federal prosecution of a hate crime if the crime was motivated by bias AND was intended to prevent the victim from exercising a "federally protected right" [i.e., voting, attending school]. This requirement has prohibited the full prosecution of certain crimes.

As such, I call for immediate passage of the Hate Crime Prevention Act [H.R. 1082], bipartisan legislation which would allow prosecution of serious, violent hate crimes, regardless of whether a federally protected right was being exercised.

Nonaction translates into not caring.

Nonaction translates into condoning the hatred that continues to permeate this nation.

But most significant, nonaction translates into silence.

And as Martin Luther King stated: "We will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."