MALDEF Urges the Department of Justice to Bring Hate Crime Charges against Shenandoah Teenagers
May 20, 2009 - Posted by Cathy Montoya
The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund has launched a petition calling for the Department of Justice to file federal hate crime charges against the teenagers responsible for the brutal murder of Luis Ramirez in Shenandoah, Pa.
On July 14, 2008, Ramirez died of injuries he suffered during an attack by a group of teenagers. The teenagers reportedly yelled racial epithets at Ramirez as they beat him. On May 1, 2009, a jury found two of the defendants accused of beating Ramirez guilty of simple assault, but acquitted the defendants of third-degree murder and ethnic intimidation, despite evidence showing that the attack was racially motivated.
Under current law, the Department of Justice has the authority to bring federal charges on hate crimes motivated by the victim's race, color, religion, and national origin.
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Pennsylvania Teenagers Acquitted of Hate Crime; Federal Law Needed
May 5, 2009 - Posted by Corrine Yu
On Friday, a jury acquitted two teenagers of serious charges, including ethnic intimidation, in the fatal beating of Luiz Ramirez, a 25 year-old Mexican immigrant, in Shenandoah, Pa., last July.
Police say that the teenagers used ethnic slurs as they repeatedly punched Ramirez, knocked him to the ground, and then kicked him several times in the head. Ramirez died of his injuries two days later.
Hate crimes against Latinos have been increasing since 2003, according to FBI data. Civil rights groups said that this increase correlates closely to the increasingly heated debate over immigration reform and a rise of anti-immigrant rhetoric on radio, television, and the Internet.
Last week, the House of Representatives passed the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crime Prevention Act, which will provide local authorities with more resources to combat hate crimes and give federal government jurisdiction over prosecuting hate crimes in states where the current law is inadequate.
"[T] his verdict underscores the importance of the passage of this Act," said Henry Solano, MALDEF interim president and general counsel. "It is time for the Department of Justice to step in and bring justice to the Ramirez family and send a strong message that violence targeting immigrants will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law."
The Justice Department is currently investigating whether to prosecute the two teenagers under federal civil rights statutes.
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House Passes Hate Crimes Bill
April 29, 2009 - Posted by Tyler Lewis
The House of Representatives passed the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act (LLEHCPA) today (249-175).
"[The vote] 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," said Wade Henderson, president and CEO of LCCR. "Today, the House has sent a clear message that Americans do not have to live in fear."
The LLEHCPA will authorize the Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute certain bias-motivated crimes based on the victim's actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or disability. Currently, the federal government can only investigate hate crimes motivated by the victim's race, color, religion, and national origin.
It will also provide local authorities with more resources to combat hate crimes and give the federal government jurisdiction over prosecuting hate crimes in states where the current law is inadequate.
The bill must be passed by the Senate and signed by the president before becoming law.
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House Judiciary Committee to Vote on Hate Crimes Bill Today
April 22, 2009 - Posted by Tyler Lewis
UPDATE: The LLEHCPA was voted out of committee (15-12) on April 23.
The House Judiciary Committee is expected to vote today on the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act (LLEHCPA).
The LLEHCPA will authorize the Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute certain bias-motivated crimes based on the victim's actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or disability. Currently, the federal government can only investigate hate crimes motivated by the victim's race, color, religion, and national origin.
It would also provide local authorities with more resources to combat hate crimes and give the federal government jurisdiction over prosecuting hate crimes in states where the current law is inadequate.
Hate crimes continue to be a problem in the U.S. According to the most recent FBI data, crimes against Latinos increased for the fourth year in a row in 2007, and those against gays and lesbians increased by nearly six percent. In addition, hate crimes against Jewish people and people who are Black or Asian/Pacific Islander also increased.
The LLEHCPA is supported by 26 state attorneys general and over 300 national law enforcement, professional, education, civil rights, religious, and civic organizations.
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Government Report Points to Rise in Hate Groups
April 21, 2009 - Posted by Antoine Morris
 Hate groups and right wing extremists are using Americans' concern about undocumented immigration, the current economic downtown, and the election of the first African-American president to gain new recruits, according to a new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) report leaked last week.
As was the case during the recession of the early 1990s, hate groups have exploited the perception that undocumented immigrants are taking jobs away from American citizens and used it as a call to action. The report notes that the anti-immigrant rhetoric by right-wing extremists "has the potential to turn violent."
Fear of a pending economic collapse has also made it easy for hate groups to exploit racial tensions and promote paranoia about the possibility that the government will take away certain civil liberties such as the right to bear arms or will create camps to detain citizens unlawfully. Many extremist groups, including militias, have stockpiled weapons and ammunition in preparation.
Much of the government's findings are consistent with a recent Southern Poverty Law Center report on hate group activity in the U.S. that found an increase in the number of hate groups nationwide between 2007 and 2008.
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Tomorrow Students Will Participate in National Day of Silence to End Bullying
April 16, 2009 - Posted by Maggie Owner
 Tomorrow is the National Day of Silence, the largest student-run action to end bullying and create safer schools for all, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Participants across the country take a vow of silence and only speak when necessary during the day to raise awareness about the problem of anti-LGBT bullying.
The first Day of Silence was organized in 1996 by students at the University of Virginia. A year later, nearly 100 colleges and universities participated. Last year, more than 8,000 middle schools, high schools, and universities participated nationwide.
This year students are choosing different ways to spread the word about the Day of Silence. Some are using Twitter to encourage people to participate. Others are wearing face masks with an "X" over the mouth to represent their silence or t-shirts with messages like, "Gay? Fine by me."
According to the National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center, almost 30 percent of youth in the U.S. are involved in bullying, either as a bully, a target of bullying, or both.
In recent years, numerous incidents of children committing suicide because of being bullied have made the news. On April 6, an 11-year-old boy named Carl Walker-Hoover hanged himself after enduring daily taunts of being gay and tormented by his peers. Hoover, who did not identify as gay, would have turned 12 today.
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Human Rights Campaign Launches Website to Push for Federal Hate Crimes Bill
April 8, 2009 - Posted by Maggie Owner
This week, the Human Rights Campaign launched a new website to push for passage of the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act (LLEHCPA).
FightHateNow.org provides background information on the LLEHCPA, features photos and videos about the devastating impact of hate crimes, and allows website visitors to directly contact their members of Congress to support the bill.
The LLEHCPA, introduced in the House last week, will authorize the Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute certain bias-motivated crimes based on the victim's actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or disability. Currently, the federal government can only investigate hate crimes motivated by the victim's race, color, religion, and national origin.
It would also provide local authorities with more resources to combat hate crimes and give the federal government jurisdiction over prosecuting hate crimes in states where the current law is inadequate.
In this video from the new site, Wade Henderson, president and CEO of LCCR, explains why the LLEHCPA is an important civil rights bill.
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Number of Hate Groups in the U.S. Increases in 2008
March 2, 2009 - Posted by Tyler Lewis
 The number of hate groups in the United States increased to 926 in 2008, up 54 percent since 2000, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center's (SPLC) latest "Intelligence Report."
A "hate group" is an organization that promotes hate or violence towards members of an entire class of people, based on characteristics such as race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation.
According to the report, the number of hate groups continues to grow because of the recession, the election of President Obama, and fears of Latino immigration.
"The idea of a black man in the White House, combined with the deepening economic crisis and continuing high levels of Latino immigration, has given white supremacists a real platform on which to recruit," said Mark Potok, the report's editor and staff director of SPLC's Intelligence Project, which monitors hate groups in the U.S.
Hate crimes against Latinos have been increasing since 2003, but African Americans are still the largest group of hate crime victims, according to the latest FBI data. The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crime Prevention Act, which has not been introduced in this session of Congress yet, would provide local authorities with more resources to combat hate crimes and give federal government jurisdiction over processing hate crimes in states where the current law is inadequate.
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Staten Island Man Pleads Guilty to Election Night Hate Crime Attacks
January 27, 2009 - Posted by Jessica Paquette
On January 26, Brian Carranza plead guilty to charges of conspiring to assault African Americans for his participation in a series of hate crimes in Staten Island, NY on November 4.
The men reportedly harassed several African Americans and a Hispanic man because of their political support for Obama and physically attacked three others. The final victim was mistaken for an African American and spent several weeks in a coma after being hit by their car.
Two of the defendants, Ralph Nicoletti and Michael Contreras, have plead not guilty and will face federal hate crime conspiracy charges. The third defendant, Bryan Garaventa, pled guilty as well. If convicted, Carranza may face up to 10 years in prison.
"The brutal Election Night assaults are a tragic reminder of the dangers of racism and hatred. Even as we have come so far as a nation in overcoming racism, it was disturbing to wake up and hear of a vicious hate crime," said Joel J. Levy, New York regional director of the Anti-Defamation League.
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Current Legislation
The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act was signed into law on October 28, 2009.
A version of the Act was first introduced in 1997, and the House of Representatives and the Senate have passed some version of it at various times since then.
History of the Act
View photos of this historic day
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