Persuasive Speech

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Persuasive Speech

• Christopher J. Wood
• SpCom 100A
• October 26, 1998

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(No Transcript)
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Matthew Shepard1976-1998
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Matthew Shepard

• University of Wyoming student studying political
  science
• Bright future ahead of him
• Brutally attacked on the night of October 8, 1998
• Matthews attack was motivated by anti-homosexual
  hate.

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Hate Crimes

• Definition -
• " a crime in which the defendant intentionally
  selects a victim, or in the case of a property
  crime, the property that is the object of the
  crime, because of the actual or perceived race,
  color, national origin, ethnicity, gender,
  disability, or sexual orientation of any person."

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Hate Crimes Statistics
Source U.S. Department of Justice, Federal
Bureau of Investigation, Criminal Justice
Information Services Division, Hate Crime
Statistics, 1996 Uniform Crime Reports
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Hate Crime Statistics

• 95.5 of Anti-Homosexual attacks are physical
  attacks on the person.
• Many attacks are directed at heterosexuals
  perceived to be homosexuals
• No one is safe from hate.

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Current Hate Crime Laws

• Many States have Anti-Hate Crime Laws
• Federal Laws protect against race, ethnicity, and
  Religious Hate crime attacks
• Federal Laws do not cover sexual orientation,
  gender, or disability related hate crimes.

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Federal Hate Crime Laws

• Assailant must be preventing the victim from
  exercising a federally protected right
• For Example
• Voting
• Attending School

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Hate Crimes Statistics Act

• Passed in 1990
• FBI required to gather statistics on hate crimes.
• Includes sexual orientation based attack
• Many victims are scared to speak to police.
• No clause for prosecution of offenders.

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Hate Crimes Prevention Act

• Provides more tools for FBI to prosecute hate
  crimes offenders
• Expands Hate Crimes protection to
• Sexual orientation
• Disability
• Gender

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Hate Crimes Prevention Act

• Remains in Congress
• Pork in a budget bill is more important than
  protecting citizens.
• Matthew Shepards death, a battle cry for hate
  crimes prevention legislation.

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Hate Crimes Prevention Act

• Passage would
• Send a message to hate mongers
• Be a legacy to Matthew

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What you can do...

• Write your senator or representative
• Tell him or her to pass the hate crimes
  prevention act.
• Senators
• Arlen Specter
• Rick Santorum
• Representatives
• Varies by Locality
• http//www.house.gov/

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What you can do...

• Participate in vigils
• Memorial contributions
• The Memorial FundFirst National Bank, Account
  1926083P.O. Box 578Ft. Collins, CO 80522

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Acknowledgements

• Information for this Presentation was obtained
  from
• the Human Rights Campaign
• the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
• the United States House of Representatives
• the Leadership Conference Education Fund
• Photos of Matthew Shepard obtained from the
  Associated Press