Date: Mon, 24 Apr 1995 12:10:57 -0400 From: David B. O'Donnell To: Multiple recipients of list GLB-NEWS Subject: (USA) NM Gov. Vetoes Hate Crimes Bill [ Send all responses to summers@RT66.COM only. Any responses to the list or list-owners will be returned to you. ] Hate Crimes bill vetoed By Bob Summersgilll, from the Rainbow. Governor Gary Johnson vetoed the Hate Crimes bill as part of a record breaking number of vetoes. Johnson angered many activists and law enforcement officials with the veto. The Attorney General and District Attorneys across the state supported the bill and testified in favor of its passage as a law enforcement tool. Mike Runnels, a district attorney in Los Lunas, told The Albuquerque Tribune "ItUs disturbing, to say the least, that we were not consulted at all about this." The only opposition to the bill came from the religious right organizations such as the NM Christian Coalition and the Coalition for Promoting Responsible Government. Both groups also opposed another bill which would allow tracking of domestic violence. People and organizations from the Catholic Church to gay leaders supported the measure which would allow judges to increase jail time for people convicted of crimes against others because of their race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, sexual orientation, or disability. "When someone gets a stiffer sentence because they committed a hate crime it sends a more potent message to hate mongers that bigotry and intolerance will not be accepted," said NML/GPA member Martha Trolin. In vetoing the bill Johnson said "I feel all crimes is hate. And I really feel that every law that is created has that element in it." "To say that all crimes are hate is disingenuous," said Trolin. "Indiscriminate crime does not have the same impact on the community as when someone is mugged, but when someone is mugged because they are gay, all gay people are terrified. Impact on communities is very different for hate crimes." Johnson boasted that he wanted to set the record for vetoes, and that he would veto any bill that he did not understand. He vetoed 200 bills and demonstrated either his ignorance, or his concern for the religious right who help elect him. Johnson wrote in his veto message, "The purpose of the judicial system is not only to determine guilt or innocence, but also to assess the severity of the crime, determine the extent of malice and brutality involved and impose punishment accordingly." The Hate Crimes law would give judges the option of giving greater penalties than are otherwise allowed when a hate crime is committed. Judges are not obliged to increase the penalties. Susan Seligman of the Anti-Defamation League told the Santa Fe New Mexican "These are unique crimes because they affect the entire community, not just targeted individuals." The bill cannot be re-introduced until 1997.