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LGBTQI students protest for federal hate crime legislation

Groups take part in Bascom ‘die-in’ to inspire Washington

About 200 University of Wisconsin students staged a “die-in” on Bascom Hill Tuesday to raise awareness of hate crimes toward people who identify themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or intersex.

The event was hosted by Queer Student Alliance, Amnesty International and the LGBT campus center and included informative information on hate crimes in the United States along with the demonstration.

According to UW junior and QSA Outreach Coordinator Kate Siberine, organizers encouraged people passing by to call their state representative to voice their support for the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009.

The act would expand the definition of a hate crime in federal law to include crimes motivated by a person’s gender, sexual orientation or disability.

“Hate crimes are such an important issue for campuses because hate crimes aren’t just an attack on an individual, they are an attack on a community,” Siberine said.

UW senior and QSA founder Justin Hager said he was pleased to see people actively engaging in the demonstration, as its focus was something many students have probably never considered before.

“The FBI estimates roughly 10,000 victims (of hate crimes) in the past 10 years have reported their cases, and they have estimated it could be two to three times that are not reported,” Hager said. “The purpose of this event is not about politics, it is not about beliefs or opinions. It’s about life, and people are dying.”

While they said participation in the event was strong, Hager and Siberine noted the event was met with opposition throughout the day.

Hager said several people voiced dissent backed up by religious beliefs, and Siberine said several men caused a disruption by running onto the hill and playing football.

The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which has been previously introduced in various forms in the United States Congress, has been strongly opposed by religious and socially conservative groups across the nation.

Geri Lynn Goodman, spokesperson for Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., said Baldwin has been a leader in introducing anti-hate crime legislation and supporting the act.

“The hate crimes bill passed in the house last session, and we are very hopeful it will pass in the Senate, and President Obama has expressed his willingness to sign it,” Goodman said. “The stars are aligned this year for good things regarding that bill.”

Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and his staff did not return several calls or e-mails as of press time.