Dear John,

Forty years ago, ADL drafted the country’s first model hate crimes law. Since then, 46 states have adopted laws based on or similar to our model, the Supreme Court unanimously upheld our approach, Congress passed the landmark Matthew Shepard-James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crime Prevention Act, and hate crime laws have become an important component of our legal system. Sadly, it is not enough.

In the past year, the power of rhetoric to stoke hate and to produce incidents of aggression that rob all of us of our sense of security has been laid bare. We have seen this most recently in the surge of attacks against Asian-Americans which has made members of that community feel especially threatened and vulnerable in a way that should be unacceptable to all of us.

We understand full well that antisemitism, bigotry, racism and homophobia cannot be legislated out of existence. There is no magic wand. Education is vital, so teaching about hate is a major ADL priority. It goes hand-in-hand with understanding and implementing our existing hate crime laws.

ADL is strongly supportive of additional federal legislation, most notably the Khalid Jabara-Heather Heyer NO HATE Act. This bill, which not only has bipartisan support in Congress but also widespread support in the business, entertainment and law enforcement communities, would promote education in fighting hate crimes, as well as prevention, best practices and data collection.

Lawmakers are taking note of the increased public alarm at how hate is spreading, and there is a growing appetite to find ways to address it. ADL’s PROTECT Plan provides leaders with ways to condemn hate fomented by domestic extremists and to prioritize responding to it.

With this momentum, there is a real opportunity in 2021 to mobilize the resources to secure sweeping and accurate data on hate crimes, promote effective anti-bias education and build trust between affected communities. But this will only happen if Members of Congress see widespread support for taking action to fight hate.

Please take a moment to ask your representatives in Congress to respond to the bias-motivated conduct we see around us by supporting these measures:

• The Jabara-Heyer NO HATE Act would authorize federal support to states and municipalities to set up hate crime reporting hotlines, improve data collection and reporting protocols, and train officers to recognize and investigate hate crimes and to support survivors with sensitivity.

• House Resolutions 151 and 153 would convey Congress’s unequivocal condemnation of anti-Asian hate and its painful consequences, as well as the need for all of society to remain vigilant to and to confront prejudice.

In the fight to combat hate and secure justice and fair treatment to all, we need a whole-of-society commitment. That includes you, and we deeply appreciate your engagement and ongoing support.

Sincerely,

Steven M. Freeman

Vice President, Civil Rights

ADL