Mr. UDALL of New Mexico, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Ms. WASSERMAN 
SCHULTZ, Ms. WATSON, Mr. WAXMAN, Mr. WEINER, Mr. WEXLER, Ms. 
WOOLSEY, Mr. WU, and Mr. WYNN) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To provide Federal assistance to States, local jurisdictions, 
and Indian tribes to prosecute hate crimes, and for other 
purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Local Law Enforce-
ment Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2007’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
(1) The incidence of violence motivated by the 
actual or perceived race, color, religion, national ori-
gin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or 
disability of the victim poses a serious national prob-
lem. 
(2) Such violence disrupts the tranquility and 
safety of communities and is deeply divisive. 
(3) State and local authorities are now and will 
continue to be responsible for prosecuting the over-
whelming majority of violent crimes in the United 
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States, including violent crimes motivated by bias. 
These authorities can carry out their responsibilities 
more effectively with greater Federal assistance. 
(4) Existing Federal law is inadequate to ad-
dress this problem. 
(5) A prominent characteristic of a violent 
crime motivated by bias is that it devastates not just 
the actual victim and the family and friends of the 
victim, but frequently savages the community shar-
ing the traits that caused the victim to be selected. 
(6) Such violence substantially affects interstate 
commerce in many ways, including the following: 
(A) The movement of members of targeted 
groups is impeded, and members of such groups 
are forced to move across State lines to escape 
the incidence or risk of such violence. 
(B) Members of targeted groups are pre-
vented from purchasing goods and services, ob-
taining or sustaining employment, or partici-
pating in other commercial activity. 
(C) Perpetrators cross State lines to com-
mit such violence. 
(D) Channels, facilities, and instrumental-
ities of interstate commerce are used to facili-
tate the commission of such violence. 
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(E) Such violence is committed using arti-
cles that have traveled in interstate commerce. 
(7) For generations, the institutions of slavery 
and involuntary servitude were defined by the race, 
color, and ancestry of those held in bondage. Slavery 
and involuntary servitude were enforced, both prior 
to and after the adoption of the 13th amendment to 
the Constitution of the United States, through wide-
spread public and private violence directed at per-
sons because of their race, color, or ancestry, or per-
ceived race, color, or ancestry. Accordingly, elimi-
nating racially motivated violence is an important 
means of eliminating, to the extent possible, the 
badges, incidents, and relics of slavery and involun-
tary servitude. 
(8) Both at the time when the 13th, 14th, and 
15th amendments to the Constitution of the United 
States were adopted, and continuing to date, mem-
bers of certain religious and national origin groups 
were and are perceived to be distinct ‘‘races’’. Thus, 
in order to eliminate, to the extent possible, the 
badges, incidents, and relics of slavery, it is nec-
essary to prohibit assaults on the basis of real or 
perceived religions or national origins, at least to the 
extent such religions or national origins were re-
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garded as races at the time of the adoption of the 
13th, 14th, and 15th amendments to the Constitu-
tion of the United States. 
(9) Federal jurisdiction over certain violent 
crimes motivated by bias enables Federal, State, and 
local authorities to work together as partners in the 
investigation and prosecution of such crimes. 
(10) The problem of crimes motivated by bias 
is sufficiently serious, widespread, and interstate in 
nature as to warrant Federal assistance to States, 
local jurisdictions, and Indian tribes. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITION OF HATE CRIME. 
In this Act— 
(1) the term ‘‘crime of violence’’ has the mean-
ing given that term in section 16, title 18, United 
States Code; 
(2) the term ‘‘hate crime’’ has the meaning 
given such term in section 280003(a) of the Violent 
Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 
(28 U.S.C. 994 note); and 
(3) the term ‘‘local’’ means a county, city, town, 
township, parish, village, or other general purpose 
political subdivision of a State. 
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