To achieve change on behalf of the LGBTQ community, it's going to take all of us doing everything we can. The civil rights struggle of the 60s wasn't won by African-Americans sitting on their duffs and hoping someone would get around to working on their issues. That leads me today's challenge: What have you done for the hate crimes legislation (that's currently in front of the Senate) lately?
One example is Bilerico Project contributor Rev. Irene Monroe. Rev. Monroe appears in today's USA Today on an advertisement sponsored by the National Black Justice Coalition, Human Rights Campaign, and Leadership Conference on Civil Rights. The ad is meant to counter the recent spate of anti-hate crimes lies perpetuated by the religious right.
See the ad after the jump. If Rev Monroe can do this much, what can you do? Have you called your senator to let them know you want the Matthew Shepard Act passed? Time is running out - the vote will happen this week! Click here to find your Senators' e-mail addresses and phone numbers - and then do both!
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Never a bad idea to identify a piece of legislation by its assigned number.
The "Matthew Shepard Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2007" was previously S.B.1105, and has now been added as an amendment to H.R.1585.
Note that H.R.1585 is a Department of Defense authorization bill --- in other words, upon passage, it allocates military funding. This might make some of us puke, but it also may make King Dubya sick to his stomach when he is forced to sign a hate-crimes bill into law in order to get the funding he needs to keep his "troop surge" going in Iraq.
Don't mean to repeat myself, but compromise is often the essence of politics.
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What else do I do to fight hate crimes? Every year I staff the "Harrison County Is A No-Hate Zone" table at the World on the Square festival in Corydon, Indiana. Among other literature, I usually give out about 50 copies of the pamphlet "Ten Ways to Fight Hate" by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
This year World on the Square is on Saturday, August 11 from 4 to 8 PM. Everyone please come to this family-friendly event celebrating Hoosier diversity!
[... and Bil, thanks for setting me up perfectly for this shameless plug!]
A. J. Lopp | July 16, 2007 3:59 PM
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