The Holocaust Museum Shooting and the Push for Hate Crimes Legislation

by Michael Jones · 2009-06-15 18:38:00 UTC
Topics:

Holocaust Museum

Last week we wrote about the rapid rise in domestic terrorism, which surfaced again with the shooting of a security guard at the U.S. Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C.  Is there a connection between that shooting, and the push this week announced by the U.S. Senate (and covered also by the Obama administration this past weekend) to pass the hate crimes bill?

That's what an article in today's Christian Science Monitor is arguing. They say that the ultimate irony is that James Von Brunn, the white supremacist guilty of last week's Holocaust Museum shooting, may play a significant role in solidifying support for hate crimes legislation after ten-plus years of the bill languishing in Congress.  Here's their take:

James Von Brunn, the white supremacist charged with murdering a Holocaust Museum security guard last week, could inadvertently have won a major victory for homosexuals in the United States....

Now, Congress is under greater pressure to acknowledge that gays face the same threats as the Jews and blacks targeted by Mr. Von Brunn, and it could take action as soon as this week.

Sen. Harry Reid also cited the Holocaust Museum shooting at a press conference today. Reid told reporters that the shooting raises the stakes for passing hate crimes legislation, and noted that "hate crimes embody a unique type of evil...violent acts can physically hurt just a single victim and cause grief to loved ones. Hate crimes do more."

Hate crimes certainly do more, whether they happen in Laramie, Wyoming, in Jasper, Texas, or in the heart of the nation's capital.

Michael Jones is a Change.org Editor. He has worked in the field of human rights communications for a decade, most recently for Harvard Law School.
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