Hate Crimes Support from University Women
The following letter was sent from Sheila Luecht, Director of Communications, American Association of University Women, Illinois, Inc.
The current Congress has a responsibility to the American people to take a stand against hate crimes. On June 20, the Senate passed legislation aimed at hate-crime prevention. In order for this legislation to become law, the House should follow the Senate's lead and pass the Hate Crimes Prevention Act ( HCPA ) . The 106th Congress must not adjourn without enacting legislation to strengthen the federal response to hate-crimes violence.
The current federal hate-crimes law, passed in 1968, allows federal prosecution of crimes, under limited circumstances, based on the victim's race, color, religion or national origin. The proposed hate-crimes legislation lifts the restrictions on federal prosecution of these crimes and includes acts of violence aimed at these groups, and also expands the law to cover gender, sexual orientation, and disability.
The American Association of University Women ( AAUW ) believes that hate crimes are serious, well-documented problems that remain inadequately recognized. A disturbingly high number of hate crimes have been committed in Illinois over the past several years. For example, in 1997, Herberto A. Pulgar intentionally ran over an African-American man with his utility vehicle after spitting on him and hurling racial insults. In July 1999, Benjamin Smith, an individual associated with a racist and anti-Semitic organization, killed an African-American man, Ricky Byrdsong, and wounded six orthodox Jews in Chicago before killing Woo-Joon Yoon, a Korean student. In addition, in September 1999, William J. Riley was charged with a hate crime for allegedly yelling epithets at a woman and kicking her in the neck. These are just three examples of the numerous hate crimes committed in Illinois between 1997 and 2000. It is certainly plausible that many more onerous attacks such as these occurred,
Fortunately, these crimes have been successfully prosecuted because the Illinois legislature enacted a law similar to HCPA in 1996. Some opponents argue that a federal statute is not necessary since the Illinois law already protects citizens against hate crimes. However, a stronger federal hate-crimes law is needed because only 17 states currently have a hate-crimes prevention law that encompasses gender, sexual orientation, and disability. HCPA would compliment the current Illinois statute and would be applied only when the state is unwilling or unable to act. Further, grants made available to local law enforcement in HCPA will be helpful in providing additional resources for the prosecution of hate crimes.
As leaders of the Republican majority, House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert and Rep. Henry J. Hyde should be working hard to pass legislation so that all American citizens can enjoy the same protections afforded to Illinois residents.
Sheila Luecht, AAUW
TCF Bank and Dr. laura
The following letter was sent by the Stop 'Dr' Laura Coalition/Chicago to David Creel, Regional Manager of Marketing Operations, TCF National Bank, 800 Burr Ridge Parkway, Burr Ridge, IL 60521.
As you may be aware, radio hostess Dr. Laura Schlessinger has the dubious distinction of being the most prominent anti-gay bigot on the airwaves today. She repeatedly slanders lesbians and gays as "biological errors" and "deviants," and charges that most gay men are pedophiles. Contrary to the advice given by professional associations and psychiatrists and psychologists, she advocates so-called "reparative therapy" for gays. She organized a massive call-in to the Vermont legislature in an unsuccessful attempt to block civil union legislation for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered ( LGBT ) people. She is against gay adoptions and has advised callers to segregate children from their gay relatives.
Were these opinions expressed against Jews or African-Americans today, no responsible organization would advertise on programs with such bigotry. But some think that we LGBT people are still fair game. However, we will no longer tolerate media personalities who call into question our very right to exist, nor will we tolerate the corporations which support them, We are very disturbed that the TCF Bank is a regular advertiser on the Dr. Laura show in Chicago.
Corporations including GEICO, Procter & Gamble, Toys-R-Us and United Airlines agree with us, or at least think bigotry is bad for business, and have dropped Schlessinger's program from their advertising portfolio. We hope that TCF will quickly join these companies.
We demand that TCF cease advertising on the WLS radio "Dr. Laura" program aired at 9-11 a.m. and 2-3 p.m. weekdays, and that you notify us in writing by July 21, 2000 of your decision to do so. Should you fail to comply, be prepared to have one or more of your outlets picketed with a call for depositors to withdraw their accounts from your bank.
Stop 'Dr' Laura Coalition/Chicago
The Pope and Gays
The following letter was sent to Pope John Paul II by Illinois gay political and religious activist Gary Cozette.
I write to express my grave concern about the Vatican's silencing of American Sister Jeannine Gramick and Rev. Robert Nugent, and your ordered withdrawal of Bishop Jacques Gaillot from participating in the World Pride Roma 2000.
Of even greater concern is the apparent partnership that the Vatican and the Catholic association known as Centro Culturale Lepando established with right-wing, fascist groups like the Forza Nuova and the National Alliance during public street demonstrations against World Pride Roma 2000 as reported in the [ July 4 ] New York Times. The dangerous alliance of Vatican-sanctioned groups with right-wing, anti-gay movements in Italy is yet another sign of the Vatican's deepening hostility toward gay people in both church and society. This hostility inevitably leads to intensified violence against gay people.
As the director of a 500-member interfaith and justice network in Illinois, I have worked for human rights and social justice for over a decade. I also served as a law missionary in El Salvador during the mid-1980s doing human-rights work in the Social Secretariat of then Archbishop Rivera Damas. At the same time, I am gay, with a same-sex spouse of 10 years.
I hope that you, as Pope, and the Vatican Curia, which operates on your behalf, will seek to engage gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people worldwide in a positive way, with dignity and respect, instead of silencing those Catholic leaders who would sympathize with our concerns for justice and equality. I also hope that you will publicly denounce hate-filled, anti-gay organizations like those who demonstrated against the participants of World Prime Roma 2000.
Gary Cozette
