O.C. Officials Praise Clinton’s Attack on Hate Crimes

WASHINGTON — President Clinton on Monday urged Congress to crack down on hate crimes by adopting legislation making it a federal offense to attack people because of their sexual orientation, gender or disability.

“Our laws already punish some crimes committed against people on the basis of race or religion or national origin,” Clinton said at a White House conference on hate crimes.

“But we should do more. We should make our current laws tougher to include all hate crimes that cause physical harm. We must prohibit crimes committed because of the victim’s sexual orientation, gender or disability,” Clinton said.

The president’s message, which included stumping for proposed legislation that would expand hate crime laws, was cheered at Santa Ana College, where local activists gathered to watch a live broadcast of the speech.

“This is an excellent opportunity for the United States to get in touch with the fact that diversity issues are crucial to a strong country,” said Joyce Greenspan, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League of Orange County. “If we don’t begin to acknowledge and deal with these issues, there will be more hate crimes.”

The conference, called to raise public awareness of hate crimes and to devise strategies to combat them, is part of the president’s yearlong effort to encourage open discussions about the country’s racial problems and to help communities deal with them better.

Clinton endorsed proposed legislation, sponsored by Sens. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) and Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), to expand the federal hate crime laws to include violence against homosexuals, gender-motivated attacks and attacks on the disabled.

Thirty percent of hate crimes require hospitalization, which is needed in 7% of other crimes.

The legislation carries a maximum 10-year sentence for those who cause injuries--even as minor as a black eye--and a life sentence if the victim dies.

Ann Marie Williams of the Orange County Branch of National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People said her organization has been receiving reports of an increasing number of hate incidents in local schools. Two months ago, she said, a Buena Park middle school student was beaten and called names because she is African American.

Williams said one school district recently expelled a student for such behavior, while a district in a neighboring city merely sent the perpetrator home for a day. She praised Clinton for wanting to establish national standards that would have to be implemented on the state and local levels.

Uniform guidelines on punishment “should come from the federal government,” Williams said.

Thirty-eight states have laws against hate crimes but only 18 apply their statutes to attacks against people because of their sexual orientation. The penalties vary widely from state to state, according to officials in Congress and the administration.

The president and congressional sponsors said that the proposal to expand the federal hate crime law could bring uniformity to the patchwork of state laws and send a strong message about hate crimes.

“All Americans deserve protection from hate,” Clinton said. The legislation is to be introduced this week.

Nationwide, the number of reported hate crimes rose last year to 8,759; there were 7,947 in 1995. There is a broad agreement that hate crimes have been underreported.

Marti Schrank, a volunteer of the Democratic Party of Orange County and Orange County Citizens for the Prevention of Gun Violence, was optimistic that a solution is forthcoming.

“It’s going to be successful,” Schrank said, “but it’s going to take a while because we need to reach all the people.”