President Barack Obama signed historic hate crimes legislation on Wednesday outlawing hate crimes against people based on disability, gender, and sexual orientation. This legislation, called the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act, proved quite controversial among many in Congress and has been debated for nearly ten years, however this year the legislation garnered enough support to pass. CEC consistently supported the Act, which mirrors its policies and vision and will provide much needed protections for people with disabilities.
At Wednesday’s signing ceremony, President Obama described the legislation by saying, “No one in America should be forced to look over their shoulder because of who they are or because they live with a disability. At root, this isn't just about our laws; this is about who we are as a people. This is about whether we value one another -- whether we embrace our differences, rather than allowing them to become a source of animus.” The Act was initiated in the wake of the deaths of Matthew Shepard, who was murdered because he was a homosexual, and James Byrd Jr., who was murdered because he was African American. It will allow the Justice Department to work directly with state and local prosecutors to investigate allegations of hate crimes.
The late Senator Kennedy, a consistent and unwavering advocate for people with disabilities, had long championed this legislation and his family attended the ceremony in his honor. President Obama specifically praised the Senator’s fine work on this issue. After the ceremony, Senator Kennedy’s wife said of her husband, “I imagine that he’s smiling.”
Read CEC's Policy on Safe and Positive School Climate.
Read CEC's Recommendations for Implementing a Positive School Climate.
Once again educators are a step behind.
It is a grave injustice to our students that in this day and age they are still being discriminated against by their peers in an educational setting. We as educators should not have to look into the headlines of todays’ news to discover our cultural inadequacies, such a man being murdered for being a homosexual and a man being murdered because of his race, to identify problems that coexist within our schools. We as educators should be able to notice these injustices and create a positive school environment that is safe for everyone regardless of gender, creed or disability. In order to provide a positive school environment, we should be on the forefront of looking for unhealthy actions among our students and staff. Educators are trail blazers; we must display this in every arena of education.
Posted by: Tracee Mason | 04/06/2011 at 09:59 PM