Washington, D.C. – Today, in response to the introduction last night in the House of Representatives of H.R. 1592, the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2007, The Interfaith Alliance released the following statement from its president, the Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy:
As people of faith and goodwill, we know that while legislation alone cannot remove hatred from the hearts and minds of individuals, hate crimes legislation can help to create a society where hate-motivated violence is deemed intolerable. While a few religious voices, wrongly claiming to represent the view of all religious people, continue attempts to defeat hate crimes legislation, those of us who value religious pluralism and practice interfaith cooperation must not waver in sending a unified message condemning prejudice and supporting this legislation.
On behalf of our 185,000 members, The Interfaith Alliance calls on the Congress and the President to pass this bill and to enact it into law.
For more information, please see: interfaithalliance.org/incongress/hatecrimes