In Opposition to H.R.1913 Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009

H.R. has passed the House and has been sent to the Committee on the Judiciary for review. The website for the Committee on the Judiciary is here.

United States Senate
Committee on the Judiciary
224 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Majority Office
Phone:202-224-7703
Fax:202-224-9516

Minority Office
Phone:202-224-5225
Fax:202-224-9102


Following is a letter I composed on the site govtrack.us. They have a feature where members can write a letter in favor or in opposition to a bill. The member has an opportunity to vote on the best letter and at the end of a specified time period the best letter will be sent with the number of those that support or oppose. Here is the link where you can view my letter, rate it, add your vote to it or write a letter of your own.

Feel free to use my letter to email or write to Congress. You can also use this as talking points when you call your Senator.

I am exceedingly concerned about the passing of H.R. 1913! I believe language in this bill is so vague that it could be interpreted to impact free speech.

Additional concerns I have with this bill are:

(a) Unequal protection of laws under the 14th Amendment
(b) Punishes thought rather than mere intent to commit crime
(c) Wider immediate application than claimed
(d) Constitutes a Federal power grab
(e) Trends toward nationalization of state and local law and the internationalization of federal law and a corresponding rise in anti-Semitic and anti-Christian activity
(f) Incremental move toward making speech a federal crime.

I urge Congress to vote NO on the passage of this bill!

Lynn B. Pruitt
Florida