Gay rights marchers rest at the National Equality March in October (file photo by Ryan J. Reilly).

Three pastors and the head of a family association have filed suit challenging provisions of the Hate Crimes law passed by Congress last year and signed by President Barack Obama. Those provisions, which protect people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered from crimes motivated by bias against them, violates the religious leaders’ constitutional rights to speak out against what they say is immoral sexual conduct, the plaintiffs claim.

The lawsuit, listing Attorney General Eric Holder as the defendant, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan by lawyers from the Thomas More Law Center on behalf of Pastor Levon Yuille, Pastor Rene Ouellette, Pastor James Combs, and Gary Glenn, the president of the American Family Association of Michigan. It is the first constitutional challenge to the new hate crimes law’s provisions.

Lawyers for the religious leaders say that if they don’t prevail, they plan to appeal the decision all the way to the Supreme Court. A Justice Department spokesman told Main Justice that the government would “defend these vital protections in court.”

“The new federal hate crimes law protects Americans from perpetrators who turn prejudice into acts of violence,” said Alejandro Miyar. “Hate crimes seek to deny the humanity that we all share by victimizing whole communities.”

In their filing, the four conservatives say that the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act “elevates those engaged in certain deviant behaviors into a special, protected class of people under federal law.”

Citing George Orwell’s “Animal Farm” and Bible passages and making frequent references to the “homosexual agenda,” the lawsuit says that Yuille, a black radio host, takes offense to equating gay rights with the struggle for civil rights for African-Americans.

The suit says that Holder “encourages, endorses, promotes and supports the homosexual agenda in his official capacity as Attorney General of the United States.”

At a meeting with reporters in December, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Thomas Perez said that his office was working to educate U.S. Attorneys about the protections included in the new hate crimes law. That law added additional classes of people who are protected from hate-based crimes. An earlier hate crimes law covered crimes against persons based on their race, color, religion, national origin or ethnicity.

A lawyer working on the Michigan lawsuit, Robert Muise, told Main Justice that he believed the hate crimes law would have a “chilling and inhibitory effect on the right to freedom of speech and freedom of religion.” He said the law will be used to silence the debate on homosexuality by equating it with race in the eyes of the law.

Because he was not aware of any lawsuits using the new protections that have been filed by the government, Muise said the case is a pre-enforcement challenge. “One of the hurdles we’re going to have is showing standing, and cases where you’re alleging that there is a violation of your right to freedom of speech, the rules for standing are relaxed. Obviously we want to ensure we have laws that don’t have a chilling effect on speech.”

Asked about the comparison between protecting religious beliefs and gender identity, both of which Muise believes are a choice, he said that was like comparing apples and oranges.

“I have no evidence that hate crimes [laws protecting] somebody because of their religion has been used to squelch speech, protected speech, of individuals like hate crimes that provide as protected classes sexual orientation and gender identity,” said Muise. “I don’t see the threat like I see in other jurisdictions.”

“I don’t think you can equate the two things,” said Muise. “When you’re dealing with sexual orientation, what you’re really dealing with is deviant sexual behavior which is contrary to moral law, and I don’t equate that with somebody preaching the bible.”

The lawsuit claims that “plaintiffs are targets for government scrutiny, questioning, investigation, surveillance, and other adverse law enforcement actions and thus seek judicial reassurance that they can freely participate in their speech and related religious activities without being investigated or prosecuted by the government or becoming part of official records because of their Christian beliefs.”

The lawsuit is embedded below.

Complaint Hate Crimes 2010

Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez at the National Press Club on Friday (photo by Ryan J. Reilly / Main Justice).

Appearing at the National Press Club on Friday, Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez gave an impassioned speech on his vision for the Civil Rights Division, while criticizing its actions under the George W. Bush administration with the harshest language he has used to date.

“I learned, to my great disappointment, that those who had been entrusted with the keys to the division, and to its great power to pursue justice, treated the division instead like a buffet line at the cafeteria, cherryâ€�picking which laws to enforce,” Perez said in prepared remarks before the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy.

“I’ve seen the eyes and the faces of the wonderful career professionals who toiled during the last eight years, who did their best and did so much, but it was so difficult,” said Perez during his speech.

“I must say I wasn’t surprised by much of the data  [showing fewer civil rights prosecutions in other areas during the Bush administration]. I rather expected it, but I was rather shocked in the hate crimes setting because Ed Meese made hate crimes a priority, Brad Reynolds made hate crimes a priority, John Dunne made hate crimes a priority, George Herbert Walker Bush made the prosecution of hate crimes a priority, Bill Clinton made the prosecution of hate crimes a priority, and Barack Obama and Eric Holder will once again make the prosecution of hate crimes a significant priority,” said Perez.

Touching on his theme of transformation and revitalization of the Civil Rights Division, Perez said that it  must recognize “emerging areas of interest, areas where the Civil Rights Division may not have played a large role historically, but must play a large role today. One essential area is the area of civil rights and human rights, recognizing that we must set an example for the world.”

Perez recounted his testimony before a subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary panel last week on how the Civil Rights Division saw its role in implementing several international human rights treaties. He said the division would be working closely with the State Department on international human rights issues to make sure that the U.S. is in compliance with those treaties.

“We are the nation’s problem-solvers, not simply the nation’s litigators,” said Perez. “I’m a firm believer that if you want a job done well, give it to a busy person, and we’re having a lot of busy people at our department,” said Perez.

The conclusion of Perez’s speech, filmed by Main Justice, can be viewed below. The full speech, as aired on C-SPAN, can be viewed here.

ACS Remarks 12 18 09

Data released by Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez Thursday showed a dramatic drop-off in federal hate crimes prosecutions during the George W. Bush administration.

Perez, who heads the Civil Rights Division at the Justice Department, highlighted the Obama administration’s stepped-up prosecutions of hate crimes in a briefing with reporters Thursday.

Perez said the number of hate crimes have been on the rise and that his division will aggressively investigate such cases.

He cited data from the Hate Crimes Statistics Act and the Southern Poverty Law Center, and also said the division’s own experience showed “dramatic up-ticks” in hate crimes.

Yet during the last eight years, hate crimes convictions were down by nearly 60 percent. An average of 25 people per year were convicted of federal hate crimes each year during the Bush administration, less than half of the average of 62 people convicted per year during the Clinton administration (comparison between fiscal years 1994-2000 and 2002-2008).

“Frankly, I expected to see down-ticks in the employment area, in the voting area, in the lending area, over the course of the last eight years. I was at a shock to see the down-tick in the prosecution of hate crimes, because the data has clearly shown that hate crimes went up but prosecutions went down,” said Perez. “The numbers speak for themselves.”

Earlier this week, the Justice Department unsealed multiple grand jury indictments related to an alleged cover-up by law enforcement officers of a allegedly racially motivated murder.

In July 2008, a Latino male was fatally beaten on a street in Shenondoah, Pa., by multiple defendants who allegedly yelled racial slurs. Two defendants have been charged in his death. Three officers in the Shenondoah Police Department, including the chief of the department, are charged with conspiring to obstruct justice during an FBI investigation into the man’s death.

“I really believe that hate crimes should be in our history books and not on the front pages of newspapers,” said Perez. “We have many what I often call equal-opportunity bigots who will target a mosque, target a synagogue, target a person who is African-American, target a person who is Jewish, target a person who is Latino, target a person who is gay, target a person who is lesbian, they will go after anyone who is different.”

President Obama signed into law this afternoon legislation that will protect people who are attacked because of their sexual orientation, gender or disability.

The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act makes the most significant changes to federal hate crimes law since the approval of a 1968 bill that covered crimes carried out on the basis of religion, race, color or national origin.

The legislation was part of the defense authorization bill that passed the Senate by a 68-29 vote last week. The House approved the defense bill Oct. 8 by a 281-146 vote.

The Senate sent legislation to the White House today that would protect people who are attacked because of their sexual orientation, gender or disability.

The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act was part of the defense authorization bill that passed the Senate by a 68-29 vote. The House approved the defense bill Oct. 8 by a 281-146 vote. President Obama is expected to sign the bill into law.

The hate crimes legislation makes the most significant changes to federal hate crimes law since the approval of a 1968 bill that covered crimes carried out on the basis of religion, race, color or national origin.

Backers of the legislation have tried to attach it to the annual defense authorization bill since 1999, but it was always removed before a final vote on the defense legislation. Attorney General Eric Holder said it was “one of [his] highest personal priorities” to help usher the hate crimes legislation through Congress.

“The action by Congress today to pass this vital legislation is a milestone in helping protect Americans from the most heinous bias-motivated violence,” Holder said in a statement. “Hate crimes victimize not just individuals, but entire communities. Perpetrators of hate crimes seek to deny the humanity that we all share, regardless of the color of our skin, the God to whom we pray, or whom we love.”

Several Republicans said they voted against the overall defense bill because of the hate crimes provision, which was added as an amendment in July by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.)

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), who voted nay, said the legislation went “too far.”

“I voted against the Defense bill because the Democratic majority attached something which has nothing to do with defense: an expansion of hate crimes rules,” Alexander said in a statement.

The legislation is named after two victims of hate crimes. In 1998, Shepard, who was gay, was tortured and murdered Wyoming. Byrd, who was black, was killed in 1998 by two white supremacists who tied him up to a truck and dragged him down a road in Texas.

Here’s the roll call vote on the defense authorization bill that included the hate crimes legislation:

Four men were sentenced Thursday for committing hate crimes in response to President Obama’s victory in last year’s presidential election, the Justice Department said today. The combined total sentence was more than 24 years in prision.

After Obama was announced as the victor on election night, the defendants set out to assault blacks in Staten Island, N.Y., because they believed the victims had voted for Obama, the government said. In the course of the evening, the assailants assaulted a black teenager, a black man and a third individual they believed was black.

“By their own admission these defendants, motivated by racial hatred and a desire to punish those they believed had voted for Barack Obama, participated in violent attacks that nearly killed one of their victims,” FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York field office, Joseph M. Demarest Jr., said in a statement.

U.S. District Judge Carol B. Amon of Brooklyn, N.Y. handed down the following sentences:

• Ralph Nicoletti, 108 months in prison;
• Bryan Garaventa, 60  months;
• Michael Contreras, 55 months; and
• Brian Carranza, 70 months.

The case was prosecuted by Civil Rights Division Special Litigation Counsel Kristy L. Parker and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Pamela K. Chen and Margo K. Brodie for the Eastern District of New York.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Loretta King for the Civil Rights Division said in a statement: “It is appalling that such hateful acts of racially motivated violence continue to persist in our nation.  These sentences should remind those inspired to violence by hate that they will be brought to justice.â€�  U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Benton J. Campbell added: “The significant sentences imposed by the court reflect the seriousness of the defendants’ shocking and deplorable conduct.”

Last week, Attorney General Eric Holder told black prosecutors in Memphis that the Civil Rights Division is “back and open for business” — a swipe at the Bush administration, which tried to dismantle it. (Read Holder’s speech, delivered near the spot where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, here.)

Then on Monday, civil rights activists emerged from a meeting with Holder in Washington to say he’s expressed a commitment to pursuing ”cold cases” against 1960s-era civil rights offenders that have languished for years.

Alvin Sykes, the driving force behind the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act, told reporters that perpetrators “should understand that this attorney general means business.”

The legislation, which was enacted last year, authorized up to $135 million over 10 years for investigations of civil rights-era killings. It also created a permanent cold case unit in the Justice Department. Congress, however, has not yet approved funding, though some money is included in the House and Senate appropriations bills for the DOJ now pending.

For a bit of background on the unsolved crimes bill, and the case of Emmet Till, who was beaten and shot to death in 1955 after he allegedly whistled at a white woman, click here.

And some quick stats, as reported by The Chicago Tribune: According to the FBI, there are more than 100 unsolved civil rights killings that occurred before 1969 that are under review. Since 2007, there have been 28 arrests and 22 convictions, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, a watchdog group that tracks hate crimes.

Sykes, who spoke on the sidewalk outside the Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building on Constitution Avenue, was joined by Haskell Slaughter Young & Rediker’s G. Douglas Jones. As U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Alabama, Jones successfully re-opened and prosecuted the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing of 1963.

Jones emphasized the urgency of putting the law into motion. “Each day that passes, we lose potential defendants,” he said. Evidence falls through the cracks, he said. In some instances, apathetic law enforcers let investigations languish or abandoned them outright, forcing investigators of today to “reinvent the wheel,” Jones said.

Jones downplayed concerns about funding, saying it would come in time, and he and Sykes said they were heartened by Holder’s receptiveness. ”If you are a perpetrator…and you’re still out there, we and the federal government are coming after you,” Sykes said.

The Senate passed legislation late last night that would protect people who are attacked because of their sexual orientation, gender or disability.

The Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act provides the most significant changes to federal hate crimes law since the approval of a 1968 bill that covered crimes carried out on the basis of religion, race, color or national origin. The legislation last night was added to the must-pass National Defense Authorization Bill. The hate crimes amendment passed by a voice vote after a 63-28 vote on cloture.

Harry Reid (Gov)

“The Senate made a strong statement this evening that hate crimes have no place in America,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in a statement. “I am pleased to see the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act added as an amendment to the Department of Defense Authorization bill.”

Most Republicans were against the hate crimes legislation, saying state laws already cover hate crimes and it could criminalize religious opposition to homosexuality. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said on the Senate floor Wednesday that he was “deeply, deeply disappointed� by Reid for introducing the legislation as an amendment to the defense bill.

Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), Richard Lugar (Ind.), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Olympia Snowe (Maine) and George Voinovich (Ohio) were the only Republicans to vote in favor of cloture. There were no Democrats that voted against cloture.

Backers of the hate crimes legislation have tried to attach it to the annual defense authorization bill since 1999, but it was always taken out before a final vote on the defense legislation. Attorney General Eric Holder called on Congress last month to pass hate crimes legislation.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) came out swinging today against Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) for offering the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Bill.

John McCain (Gov)

The Arizona senator said on the floor today that he was “deeply, deeply disappointed” by Reid for introducing the legislation to the defense bill and questioned the majority leader’s motives.

“(Americans) don’t deserve to have a hate crimes bill put on this legislation that has no relation to hate crimes,” McCain said on the floor.

But trying to attach the hate crimes bill to the defense bill is nothing new. Backers of the hate crimes legislation have tried to attach it to the annual defense authorization bill since 1999, but it was always taken out before a final vote on the defense legislation. The National Defense Authorization Bill must pass Congress each year to fund the Defense Department programs.

Most Republicans are against the hate crimes legislation, saying state laws already cover hate crimes and it could criminalize religious opposition to homosexuality.

The legislation — named after murdered gay college student Matthew Shepard — would expand federal hate crimes law to include crimes based on sexual orientation, disability, gender and gender identity. Attorney General Eric Holder called on Congress last month to pass hate crimes legislation.

Reid filed for cloture on the amendment this morning, but it is unclear whether a vote will happen on the legislation tomorrow.

“For the last decade, Matthew Shepard’s name associated with hate crimes,” Reid said at a news conference yesterday. “Once this bill passes, it will be associated with justice.”

Read our previous post here.

Judiciary Committee Chair Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) will introduce the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act as an amendment this week to the  National Defense Authorization Bill, the senator said in a statement today.

Patrick Leahy (Gov)

The legislation would expand federal hate crimes law to include crimes based on sexual orientation, disability, gender and gender identity. Attorney General Eric Holder called on Congress last month to pass hate crimes legislation. Read our previous report here.

“The hate crimes amendment would improve existing law by making it easier for federal authorities to investigate and prosecute crimes of racial, ethnic, or religious violence,” Leahy said in the statement. “Victims will no longer have to engage in a narrow range of activities, such as serving as a juror, to be protected under federal law.”

Passing the legislation might not be easy. A hate crimes bill was first introduced almost 10 years ago after the murder of gay college student Matthew Shepard. The bill’s supporters have tried to attach it to the annual defense authorization bill since 1999, but it was always taken out before a final vote on the defense legislation.

“It has been stalled for far too long,” Leahy said in the statement. “The time to act is now.”

The House has already passed legislation strengthening hate crimes laws, and Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said last month that he was “committed� to passing the Senate’s version of the bill by the August recess. The Senate legislation has 40 cosponsors, including Republican Maine Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe.

Here’s what Leahy’s office said the bill includes:

-Hate Crimes Covered.   Existing hate crimes law covers race, color, national origin, or religion, but only where the victim is engaging in one of the following federally protected activities: (1) attending or enrolling in a public school or public college; (2) participating in a benefit, service, privilege, program, facility or activity administered by a state or local government; (3) applying for or working in private or state employment; (4) serving as a juror in a state court; (5) using a facility of interstate commerce or a common carrier; or (6) enjoying public accommodations or places of exhibition or entertainment.  The bill eliminates the outdated “federally protected activities� requirement and expands the federal government’s ability to prosecute crimes targeting victims because of their sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or disability.

-Federal Assistance and Training Grants.  The bill authorizes the Attorney General to provide technical, forensic, prosecutorial and other assistance to state, local, and tribal law enforcement officials for hate crime investigations and prosecutions.  In addition, the Justice Department is authorized to increase personnel to better prevent and respond to allegations of hate crimes.  The bill also authorizes $5 million for fiscal years 2010 and 2011 for Justice Department grants of up to $100,000 to state, local, and tribal law enforcement officials who have incurred extraordinary expenses associated with investigating and prosecuting hate crimes.  Finally, the bill authorizes grants by the Office of Justice Programs to state, local, and tribal programs to combat hate crimes committed by juveniles, including programs to train local law enforcement officers in identifying, investigating, prosecuting, and preventing hate crimes.

-Certification Requirement.  The bill authorizes the federal government to step in when needed, but only after the Justice Department meets the certification process outlined in the bill.  The Justice Department must certify that the state in which the hate crime occurred either does not have jurisdiction; has asked the federal government to assume jurisdiction; a state prosecution has failed to vindicate the federal interest against hate-motivated violence; or a federal prosecution is in the public interest and necessary to secure substantial justice.  In other words, rather than take over cases that would normally be pursued at the state or local level, the bill will provide a federal backstop for state and local law enforcement to deal with hate crimes that otherwise might not be effectively investigated and prosecuted, or for which states request assistance.

-Collection of Statistics.  Currently, the FBI collects statistics on hate crimes based on race, color, national origin, religion, and sexual orientation.  This bill increases the federal government’s ability to monitor hate crimes by including statistics on gender and gender identity-based hate crimes, as well as hate crimes committed by juveniles.