Topic of the day: hate crimes; President Clinton's Conference on Hate Crimes has America talking about the violence endured by gay men and lesbians.

President Clinton's conference on hate crimes has America talking about the violence endured by gay men and lesbians

Violence against gay men and lesbians and other minority groups garners President Clinton's attension this month as he convenes the White House Conference on Hate Crimes. Activists involved with antiviolence groups say they are hopeful the conference will lead to more and tougher laws nationwide regarding hate crimes, better training for police, and education for schoolchildren about the problem of bias-motivated attacks.

As part of our continuing series on hate crimes, The Advocate questioned three openly gay people who have been heavily involved in the hate-crimes discussion: Richard Socarides, special assistant to the president and director of the White House Conference on Hate Crimes; Sharen Shaw Johnson, executive director of Gay Men and Lesbians Opposing Violence, a Washington D.C.-based advocacy group; and Jeff Jones, a volunteer with the Documentation Project, which tracks hate crimes for the Gay and Leshian Service Organization in Lexington, Ky.

What results are you hoping for from this conference?

SOCARIDES: We are focusing national attention on this problem, highlighting what the Administration is already doing and what new initiatives we will be undertaking. We need to focus on positive steps local communities have taken and what others can do. We could see several proposals come out of it, some of which would require legislative action, some of which would not. There could be proposals about enhanced law enforcement, data collection, and an education initiative.

JOHNSON: I m hoping that getting so many different groups together will help us all form new coalitions. We can address issues better if we're working together. We need allies. I also hope there will be increased training for the FBI in recognizing hate crimes.

JONES: It would be great to have a federal hate-crimes law that includes sexual orientation. The local police departments [in Kentucky] don't have the training and often avoid issues that deal with sexual orientation. We need to educate police about hate crimes and force police departments to have some type of mandatory reporting of all hate crimes, not just in urban areas but also rural areas.

How do you think the president can make a difference on an issue like fighting hate crimes?

SOCARIDES: The president can draw attention to an issue like no other person in the country. By drawing attention to the issue, it focuses the country on that issue. The president feels very strongly that there is no place for this type of bias-motivated conduct.

JOHNSON: The presidency is still the greatest bully pulpit in the world. We had an example of that when [Clinton] gave his radio address in June an. pouncing the conference. We believe it's the first time a U.S. president has spoken against gay and lesbian violence. The radio address alone prompted editorial support from newspapers. It has a ripple effect throughout the country.

JONES: This is a serious problem that isn't documented very much. Whenever you have someone at a high level talk about a problem, it tells people farther down the line that you have to deal with this problem.

What is the most pressing challenge facing the gay and lesbian community in fighting hate crimes?

SOCARIDES: We need to get local law enforcement to take this issue seriously. There are many jurisdictions that for varying reasons don't have hate-crimes statutes or don't have their statutes enforced aggressively enough.

JOHNSON: I would like to see federal attention directed toward hate violence; against gay and lesbian youth. We know this group is the most endangered in our community.

JONES: In the local cities in Kentucky, the police departments understand. There are gay and lesbian officers. But in the rural areas and smaller cities, you sometimes have police who aren't as professional. Unless it's a crime where someone is murdered or severely beaten, people in rural areas don't know whom to contact and typically don't contact anyone.

RELATED ARTICLE: "Haters are cowards"

Attorney General Janet Reno speaks out on how the Justice Department can help combat hate crimes

When President Clinton announced he would hold the White House Conference on Hate Crimes, he gave Attorney General Janet Reno a key role in the proceedings. Clinton asked Reno to convene the Hate Crimes Working Group to make recommendations.

"Haters are cowards," Reno wrote in response to a series of questions from The Advocate, marking the first time she has ever communicated with the gay press. "When confronted they most often back down. But too often we let them become entrenched before we speak out because we are too busy or we don't want to get involved. Every person is diminished when any one of us experiences anything less than the full measure of his or her dignity as a human being."

What do you hope will come out of the White House Conference on Hate Crimes?

President Clinton's decision to hold the White House Conference on Hate Crimes underlines the priority we are giving to the problem of hate crimes. At a time when violent crime is dropping, all of us need to be concerned that the number of hate crimes is going up. The latest FBI statistics show that in 1996 there were more than 6,500 hate crimes based on race, more than 1,400 based on religion, and more than 1,200 based on sexual orientation.

We need to speak out against prejudice, intolerance, and bigotry whenever we see it and wherever we find it. We need to aggressively investigate and prosecute these crimes. The White House conference brings together law enforcement experts, community leaders, and hate-crime victims to highlight the seriousness of the problem.

What role can the Justice Department play in combating hate crimes?

I think we can and should play a major role. We investigate and prosecute violations of hate crimes based upon race, color, religion, and national origin. Federal hate-crimes statutes do not now permit us to prosecute offenses motivated by a victim's sexual orientation. But under President Clinton's 1994 Crime Act, anyone who otherwise violates a federal law can serve a longer sentence if they committed the offense because of the sexual orientation of the victim. And there are many other ways the department can be of help. Under the Hate Crimes Statistics Act, the department can collect statistics on hate crimes, including those motivated by antigay or antilesbian bias. Our Office for Victims of Crime has provided funding for a number of gay and lesbian victim-assistance groups, including the New York City Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project and the Minnesota Gay and Lesbian Community Action Council. Last spring I asked the deputy attorney general's office to spearhead an effort to examine the department's efforts on hate crimes and to make recommendations on other ways we might address the problem.

More than a dozen components of the department--including the FBI, U.S. attorneys, the criminal division, and the civil rights division--had been involved in this effort. Our goal is to reach out to local communities, including the lesbian and gay community, to focus on what we can do to counter the cycle of prejudice.

What is the biggest challenge the nation faces in terms of hate crimes?

One aspect of this problem that I find particularly disturbing is that a significant number of these crimes are committed by boys and young men. There are only a handful of limited studies that exist, but the experts seem to agree that there is a substantial youth involvement. Recent evidence also shows that the bias and prejudice that lead to hate crimes are learned. That is one reason I have given such a priority to peer-mediation and other antiviolence programs in our schools. I am also encouraged by the work being done by the Justice Department along with the Department of Education to make sure teachers have enough information to become more actively involved in this fight. Right now we are working to explore ways to gather data abut the bias-based violence in the schools and about the characteristics of the perpetrators and the victims. It is so important that our young people learn to empathize with others who are different from themselves.

Would you support amending the federal hate-crimes statutes to include the phrase sexual orientation?

That change is just one of the issues currently under review by the Justice Department's Hate Crimes Working Group. I hope to see a recommendation from them very soon. I know they have met with representatives of the lesbian and gay community and with community antiviolence groups on this and other issues, and I have as well.