Asian American Civil Rights Groups Applaud Signing of Federal Hate Crimes Legislation

The Asian Pacific American Legal Center (APALC) and Asian American Justice Center (AAJC) applaud President Obama for signing the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr., Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009. The new law expands the federal definition of a hate crime – which currently covers attacks motivated by race, color, religion or national origin – to include gender, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity.

The bill also provides the U.S. Department of Justice with the ability to aid state and local jurisdictions in investigations and prosecutions of hate-motivated violent crimes.

“Asian Americans have had first-hand experience with hate violence in the brutal murders of Vincent Chin and Joseph Illeto,” said Stewart Kwoh, executive director of APALC. “As civil rights advocates, we have seen too many of our own community members be the target of hate motivated crimes and often not enough resources to ensure justice for the victims and their families. This new law provides more funding and tools to combat the spread of hate.”

“After fighting for more than 10 years for enhanced hate crimes protections, we applaud the President for making this historic moment a reality,” said Aimee Baldillo, director of programs at AAJC. “Passage of this law marks a significant forward for civil rights for all Americans, including those who are gay, lesbian and transgender as well those who are disabled.”

“Intolerance remains a deeply rooted problem in the United States,” said Ismael Ileto, brother of Joseph Ileto, a Filipino American postal worker who was slain by a white supremacist in 1999. “As a community, we need to educate one another about hate crimes, but we must also build relationships and promote mutual understanding in order to eliminate hate crimes. We believe this new law, which we have championed for years, will make a difference in that work."

APALC and AAJC are leading organizations working on hate crimes issues.

For more than 25 years, APALC has worked on hate crimes prevention and provided assistance to victims and their families. Following the death of Joseph Ileto, APALC and the Ileto family established the Joseph Ileto Hate Crimes Prevention Fellowship. For more information, call (213) 977-7500 or visit www.apalc.org.

AAJC is a national expert on hate-crime prevention and has tracked and monitored hate crimes and advocated for effective federal hate-crime laws for nearly 20 years. It also provides technical assistance and training to local community-based organizations, law enforcement, and other stakeholders in anti-Asian violence prevention. For more information, call (202) 296-2300 or visit www.advancingequality.org

Source: Apaforprogress