September 20, 2014
Philly Lawmaker Requests Gay Bashing Be Investigated by Feds
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While beating someone unconscious while screaming "faggot" is a federal offense, the state of Pennsylvania says it's OK -- for now.
While the brutal attack on two gay men in Philadelphia last week has caused an outcry from many in Pennsylvania to extend the state's current hate crime law to cover sexual orientation, one lawmaker is appealing to the federal government to bring the alleged assailants to justice.
In a letter written Thursday to the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Councilman Jim Kenney gave a grizzly account of the crime and called a federal investigation under the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.
While illegal federally under the Shepard act, Pennsylvania's current hate crimes law covers "malicious intention toward the race, color, religion or national origin," but does not include sexual orientation.
The letter reads:
Dear Mr. Memeger:
On September 11, 2014, two young gay men were brutally assaulted by a group of 12-15 individuals on the 1600 block of Chancellor Street in Center City Philadelphia. As news reports have indicated, the two men suffered serious injuries including a broken jaw, other broken bones, and multiple lacerations.
According to a Philadelphia Daily News report, when Police arrived on scene they were under the impression that a shooting had occurred because of the amount of the victim's blood on the street and sidewalk. To make this terrible crime worse, from the victim's statements and other eyewitness reports, these men were assaulted by this mixed group of men and women because of their sexual orientation. The victim's were asked, "Is that your fucking boyfriend?? When one victim replied, "Yes he is my boyfriend?, the men and women began their brutal assault. All the while, the perpetrators were screaming epithets of "faggots", "dirty faggots?.
Unfortunately, under law this type of assault would not qualify as a specific "hate crime." Multiple Bills have been introduced by members of the General Assembly, but they have all failed as of today to reach a final vote, and the signature of the Governor. Because of the seriousness of these offenses, and the obvious discriminatory intent of the perpetrators, I respectfully ask that the Department of Justice partner with the Philadelphia District Attorney and Philadelphia Police Department to conduct an investigation and bring Federal charges against these individuals under 18 U.S.C. 249, otherwise known as the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. 'Hate Crimes Prevention Act, passed by Congress and signed by President Obama in 2009.
It is my opinion that it is in the interests of substantial justice for this Act to be enforced here, and the only true justice that can be meted out against these individuals is found in the penalty provisions of this Act. Also, since these individuals lived outside of Philadelphia, they most likely used some instrument of transportation funded or supported by the Federal Government, it is my opinion that the Department of Justice has the necessary legal and factual basis to bring charges under this Act.
In the meantime, openly gay State Representative Brian Sims is calling on his colleagues in Harrisburg to add sexual orientation to the current hate crimes law.
"One of the things I've learned is that sometimes it takes a horribly negative experience to get people out of their seats, for them to be active and engaged," said Sims. "It's not necessarily because they're opposed but because they aren't aware of the need. So we are going to be sure to utilize this horrible event to make sure that they hear about it. I'm going to be bringing two people with me who will be able to tell them all about it."
