A bill requiring the Justice Department to collect data about crimes motivated by racial, ethnic, religious and anti-gay prejudice was approved by the House Judiciary Committee by a 21-13 vote last week.
The Hate Crime Statistics bill would require the FBI to publish an annual report similar to the Uniform Crime Statistics it now provides.
A similar bill was approved by a House Judiciary subcommittee two years ago, introduced by Rep. Barbara Kennelly (D-Conn.), but never was voted upon by the full House. Kennelly and Rep. Dan Glickman (D-Kan.) reintroduced the bill this year.
However, the bill adopted by the committee was introduced by Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.), adding the concern for anti-gay prejudice.
There is some fear that including crimes against gays in the hate bill might endanger its passage in Congress. But David Brody, Washington representative of the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith, stressed that it was important to gather statistics on hate-motivated crimes in order to make the public aware of the extent of such crimes.
The House recently adopted a bill, introduced by Glickman, that would impose federal criminal penalties for damage to religious property and injury to persons in the free exercise of their religious beliefs.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
