Civil Rights Commission Opposes "Hate Crimes" Bill     6/23/2009
By CWA Staff

Members of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights recently sent a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee opposing the manipulatively-named Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act. They warn that the bill would allow the federal government to overreach and thereby threaten civil liberties, noting that "We regard the broad federalization of crime as a menace to civil liberties."

The members aptly point out that this "hate crimes" bill violates the spirit of the Double Jeopardy Clause of the U.S. Constitution (which bars prosecuting someone twice for the same crime), stating "…prosecutors will have 'two bites at the apple' for a very large number of crimes."

The Commission is an independent body set up by the federal government to investigate, report on and make recommendations on civil rights issues.

Click here to read this persuasive letter.

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