Pelosi Statement on the Eight-Year Anniversary of Historic Hate Crimes Legislation

October 27, 2017

Washington, D.C. – Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi released the following statement commemorating tomorrow's anniversary of the signing of the historic Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. The legislation deters hate crimes by expanding federal protections and equipping state and local law enforcement with the tools needed to prosecute hate crimes based on sexual orientation, race, religion, gender, national origin, disability, or gender identity:

"Throughout our history, each generation has worked to build a more perfect union and fulfill the promise of our founding – that all people are created equal and deserve equal protection under the law. Eight years ago, the passage of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act took us a step closer to fulfilling that promise by ensuring that all Americans, regardless of who they are or whom they love, have access to the equal justice that our laws guarantee.

"Yet, the Trump Administration has actively engaged in a mean-spirited, dangerous assault on these fundamental principles. The efforts of federal prosecutors who prosecute individual hate crimes are undermined by the Trump Administration's incessant bigotry against immigrants, Muslims and communities of color. At the same time, the Administration's attacks on LGBT citizens actively endanger the American people and dishonor our nation's most sacred ideals of liberty and justice.

"Democrats will never stop fighting for the right of all Americans to receive justice under the law and live a life free from violence and persecution. While the Trump Administration flouts our nation's values and pushes a radical social agenda, we will continue to demand that the Administration end its hateful and divisive policies."