This week the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act will be re-introduced in the House of Representatives.  This crucial legislation seeks to give local law enforcement agencies extra tools and resources they need to prevent and combat hate violence.

Despite the progress that our community has made in combating anti-gay bigotry and discrimination, today one in six reported hate crimes are motivated by the victim’s sexual orientation.  It’s even more startling to realize that today’s federal laws don’t include any protections for people based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. 

We've waited too long for comprehensive hate crimes legislation. It has been almost a decade since Matthew Shepard was brutally attacked and killed in Laramie, Wyoming for being gay.

Just weeks ago, Andrew Athos, a 72-year old Detroit resident, was riding home on a city bus when another male passenger asked him if he was gay. The man subsequently followed Andrew to his apartment, attacked him and beat him with a pipe so severely that his injuries left him paralyzed from the neck down and unable to speak above a whisper.  Anthony ultimately passed away on February 25 as the result of this attack.   

In New York City , a few months before Anthos's murder, 29-year old Michael Sandy was also killed in an antigay assault where he was beaten, chased into traffic on a busy highway, hit by a car, and then dragged off the road and attacked a second time by his assailants.

Hate crimes legislation that includes sexual orientation and gender identity must be put into law this year.

Here are the steps we need you to take today:

• Click here to determine if your Senators or Representatives have pledged their support for ending hate violence against members of our community by co-sponsoring the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act.
• If your Representative or Senators are co-sponsors, use the link above to go to a page where you can send them a Thank You message for their support. 
• If your Representative or Senators are are not currently co-sponsors, use the link to send a message urging them to immediately become a co-sponsor of this vital legislation.

After more than a decade of having updated hate crimes legislation derailed by the anti-gay leaders in Congress, we now have an unprecedented opportunity to put in place this and other key federal protections and rights for our community. Let's work together to make this happen.

Sincerely,

Joe Solmonese

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