Spring teen's death spurs fight for hate-crimes bill

[dude]

Chronicle

See original article HERE.

July 2, 2007, 6:08PM

Spring teen's death spurs fight for hate-crimes bill

By PATTY REINERT

Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON ? Supporters of hate crimes legislation mourned the death of Spring teenager David Ritcheson today and vowed to push the bill he championed through the U.S. Senate despite President Bush's threat to veto it.

U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston, credited the 18-year-old's testimony before the House Judiciary Committee for softening opposition to the hate crimes bill, which passed the House 237-180 in May. The bill is now awaiting a hearing in the Senate.

"He was powerful," Jackson Lee said of the Mexican-American who survived a brutal sexual assault and beating last year by two teens shouting "white power!"

"I was watching him sitting there with poise, with a smiling face and with commitment and courage and dedication and the rightness of what he was saying," she said. "He was not in any way doubtful of what he was saying."

In Houston, Dena Marks of the Anti-Defamation League Southwest Regional Office, which arranged Ritcheson's trip to Washington, said she and her colleagues were shocked and saddened by his death, resulting from his jump from a Mexico-bound cruise ship on Sunday.

"My own impression of him was that he was doing remarkably well and was very interested in doing whatever he could to fight the kind of hatred that he had been victimized by," Marks said. "He seemed to be a great kid who just wanted to take something very, very bad that had happened to him and make something good out of it for other people. He worked very hard toward that."

Jackson Lee said the tragedy of Ritcheson's death could draw attention to the need for the hate crimes bill, as well as one she drafted that focuses on educating teenagers involved in hate groups. She said she intends to amend her legislation, nicknamed "David's Bill," to include funding and counseling support for the victims of hate crimes.

"Now we have a greater reason to move this bill as fast as we can," she said of the main hate crimes bill, sponsored by Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich. "We will have a full press forward to have the president change his mind. Maybe he will rethink his position."

White House spokesman Blair Jones declined to comment, but provided the Chronicle with a policy statement laying out the administration's opposition to the legislation.

The document said Bush's advisors would recommend that he veto the bill if it reaches his desk because the administration believes local and state hate crimes laws are adequate, and that the bill would give protected status to certain groups of victims, but not to others, such as the elderly, military personnel or the police.

The legislation would make it a federal hate crime to attack someone if the crime is motivated by prejudice based on the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability of the victim.

The current federal hate crimes law applies only to violence against victims based on race, religion, color or national origin, and only when the victim is attacked while carrying out a federally protected act, such as voting.

The bill also would make it easier for federal law enforcement personnel to assist local and state police in investigating hate crimes and would provide $10 million over the next two years to help cover the cost of hate crimes prosecutions.

Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Tyler, who led the opposition to the hate crimes bill in the House, told Ritcheson this spring that he sympathized with him but opposed giving what he considered special protection under the law for victims who are gay or transgendered. He said he fears that religious leaders could be targeted under such a law for preaching against homosexuality.

On Monday, Gohmert issued a statement saying: "It is heartbreaking that such a gifted young man would bring an early end to such talent. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all of David's loved ones. Though two of his original attackers received 90 years and life, clearly they did devastating long term damage to him mentally and emotionally."

patty.reinert@chron.com

[Trab]

I have to sadly admit that I'd heard about none of this at all. Not the original issue, not the Bill, and not this young man's death. The only thing that immediately jumped to the forefront of my thinking is: Has anyone actually double checked to make sure that he actually jumped voluntarily. Feel free to read between the lines as to what I'm getting at.

[DesDownunder]

I have to sadly admit that I'd heard about none of this at all. Not the original issue, not the Bill, and not this young man's death. The only thing that immediately jumped to the forefront of my thinking is: Has anyone actually double checked to make sure that he actually jumped voluntarily. Feel free to read between the lines as to what I'm getting at.

The same thought occurred to me Trab, but you have managed to raise it without being accusatory.

This young man's suffering and death is very distressing to say the least.

[blue]

I dropped my subscription to save a few trees, and I've missed the news the last few days. I'd heard of a teen jumping but missed who and why and where.

Spring is very near where I used to live.

Best wishes to his family and friends. I hope some good will come out of the bad. It's hard to make sense of life at times...so we make our own path to make sense, be sensitive, and be sensible...and show a little compassion...instead of politics as usual.