Washington D.C. — July 18, 2007: The Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF), the nation’s oldest Sikh American civil rights and advocacy organization, urges the Sikh American community to contact their Senators to support S. 1105, the Matthew Shepard Local Law Enforcement Hate Crime Prevention Act of 2007 (LLEHCPA). Your immediate support is urgently needed. Tell your Senator that hate is not an American or Sikh Value and that this is important legislation that must be passed. The House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed the LLEHCPA earlier this year. It will allow for the federal resources to go to the investigation and prosecution of hate crimes which affect our families and community, and will help to ensure that victims of these crimes see justice. Without the passage of this hate crimes bill, hate crimes committed in our country will continue to go unrecognized, un-investigated, and unpunished. This past week, the importance of this bill became even more apparent to the Sikh American community with the murder of 26-year-old Satender Singh. Mr. Singh was removed from life support after being viciously assault in Sacramento over the July 4th weekend in a bias motivated attack. The assailants have yet to be found. If enacted, the LLEHCPA would assist local authorities with the investigation of hate crimes and ensure that the assailants are brought to justice. Protection from hate- and bias- motivated violence is a basic and essential civil right and the Senate must act now to ensure that this fundamental freedom is guaranteed to all Americans. Click here to contact your senator and urge him/her to support the hate crimes bill. To contact your senator directly, call (202) 224-3131 and request your Senator’s Office Click here for more background on the LLEHCPA.
