To: Donald Trump
President-Elect Trump: Denounce Hate Crimes
The American people request that you publicly acknowledge, denounce, and respond to the current rash of hate speech and related assaults visited by some Americans upon fellow Americans. Traditional and social media have documented a troublingly large number of such episodes, which appear to have escalated in frequency since November 8th. We believe it is your duty as President-Elect to publicly address the nation and denounce these behaviors, pledge to support investigations into such episodes, and call on Congress to turn their attention to modernizing hate-crime laws, thereby affirming your commitment to “be President for all Americans.”
Why is this important?
Donald Trump's silence in the face of the current rise in hate crime, fueled in part by his rhetoric and behavior, belies his promise to be "president for all Americans." We therefore demand he break the silence and publicly denounce and pledge specific action against hate crime.
United States hate crime legislation needs strengthening. Some states have no hate crime laws, and it was only in 1993 that hate crime laws were ensured constitutionality. Ours are decades behind other Western Democracies. Overall, there remains imbalance between First Amendment protections, and the protection of hate crime victims. The United States is in dire need of effective, protective hate crime laws. The current crisis lends even greater urgency.
The president-elect owes it to all Americans - regardless of gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religious belief, disability, or political persuasion - to publicly denounce hate crime and pledge concrete action against it.