Date: Sat, 6 Jul 1996 22:13:14 GMT
Subject: TRANSPEOPLE LEFT BEHIND ON HATE CRIMES AGAIN
From: riki@nyc.pipeline.com (Riki Anne Wilchins)

TRANSPEOPLE LEFT BEHIND ON HATE CRIMES AGAIN  
============================================ 
 
[Washington, DC - July 4, 1996] 
 
          President Clinton has signed  
the Church Arson Prevention Act of 1996  
passed by Congress on June 26, which  
reauthorizes the Hate Crimes Statistics  
Act.  The HCSA, originally enacted in  
1990, mandates FBI collection of data on  
hate crimes based on "race, religion,  
sexual orientation or ethnicity."   
 
	     Despite the fact that the HCSA  
does not cover transgendered persons,  
GenderPAC helped a broad coalition of  
civil rights organizations urge Congress  
to reauthorize the HCSA after its  
original mandate expired in 1995. 
 
 
Limited Coverage 
---------------- 
 
	In effect, HCSA will cover  
genderqueers if, and only if, they can  
demonstrate the assault on them occurred  
as a result of their being "perceived"  
as gay or lesbian.  The difficulty of  
this can be can be gauged by the recent  
brutal slayings of transpeople like  
Brandon Teena or Deborah Forte.  Even in  
such horrific cases, local officials  
have been notoriously reluctant to label  
them "hate crimes," while  
correspondingly eager to blame the  
victim's alleged gender "deception" as  
the cause. 
 
 
GenderPAC's Response 
-------------------- 
 
	Said Riki Anne Wilchins,  
GenderPAC's Executive Director, "In the  
face of the terrible incidence of trans 
murders in the past few years,  
including Brandon Teena (NE), Christian  
Paige (IL), Deborah Forte (MA), Chanel  
Picket (MA), Janice Ricks (OH), Harold  
Draper (NJ), Cameron Tanner (CA), Marsha  
Johnson (NY), Jessy Santiago (NY) and her  
sister Peggy Santiago (NY), it is simply 
unconscionable that people *still*  
haven't gotten the message that hate crimes  
against gender people *must* be tracked." 
 
          Declared Dana Priesing,  
GenderPAC's Congressional Advocacy  
Coordinator who had worked hard for 
trans-inclusion: "This is a bittersweet  
event for transgendered people.  We're  
glad to see the Hate Crimes Statistics  
Act reauthorized and for our gay,  
lesbian and bisexual brothers and  
sisters who are once again covered by  
the Act. And we're pleased to have  
contributed to the reauthorization  
process." 
 
          "But Senator Mosely-Braun  
stated on June 27 that reauthorization  
of HCSA facilitates 'a better  
understanding of the magnitude of hate  
crimes nationwide.'  Reauthorization won't  
have that effect for crimes against  
transfolk, because it doesn't identify  
or count them. 
 
          "So we're also frustrated that  
our coalition partners and elected  
representatives don't recognize it's  
past time to include transgendered  
people in HCSA.  And we're outraged by  
the knowledge more transgendered people  
will be harassed, attacked and killed  
because of their gender identities and  
these crimes will go unrecorded and  
unrecognized for the hate crimes they  
are.  
 
	"That is why a keystone in  
GenderPAC's 1997 Congressional agenda  
will be to change get coverage within  
HCSA for all of us in the queer  
community." 
 
[END]