ELCA leaders call for an end to hate crimes, domestic extremism

CHICAGO (ELCA) - Leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America (ELCA) commend the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee for convening a
hearing Sept. 19 on hate crimes and domestic extremism in a "Statement for
the Record" submitted today by the ELCA to the Senate.
In the record, ELCA leaders stated that it is a moral imperative that
policymakers and elected officials take strong measures "to build a future
where hate has no place." The "policies and practices of racial and
religious profiling perpetuate bias and divert resources that should be
used to protect those on the margins of society, who are most at risk. The
threat is not the 'other' it is those who hate the 'other.'"
The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop, and other ELCA
churchwide ministries leaders urged Congress, the White House and
appropriate government agencies to:
+ ensure robust and comprehensive implementation of the Matthew Shepherd
and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act;
+ improve federal hate crime data collection, categorization and reporting
efforts, adding new categories for affected communities not yet covered --anti-Arab, anti-Sikh, and anti-Hindu;
+ allocate and prioritize federal funding for initiatives that prevent,
investigate and combat hate crimes, hate groups and domestic extremism;
+ establish formal interagency efforts, in partnership with community
stakeholders, including religious communities, to address hate crimes; and
+ contribute to a civil discourse, setting a moral standard that adheres
to the ideals that our nation and many of our faith traditions hold in
common: fairness, equality, dignity and respect.
"As people of faith, and as Americans, we uphold the values of
inclusion, plurality and diversity and seek to live according to the
commandment that summarized the law: "You shall love your neighbor as
yourself" (Mark 12:31), stated ELCA leaders.