Press Releases

Congressmen Barney Frank (D-MA) and Jared Polis (D-CO) today released a letter they sent to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, commending Israeli police for pledging to give the highest priority to apprehending the gunman who killed three young Israelis at a gay community center in Tel Aviv on Saturday.

In their letter to Prime Minister Netanyahu, Frank and Polis commended Israel’s determination to fully investigate the shootings, calling it “an important affirmation of how Israel alone in its geographic neighborhood shares the values of democracy to important to the U.S.”

Israel and especially Tel Aviv have been known for their acceptance of LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender) individuals, so the killing sent shock waves throughout Israel and the world.  The minister of Israeli internal security, Yitzhak Aharonovitch, as well leaders of the Israeli LGBT community have stated that they believe that the shooter specifically targeted his victims because of their sexual orientation.

Congressmen Frank and Polis have been leaders in the fight to pass legislation to allow the federal government to help state and local law enforcement authorities to prosecute violent crimes perpetrated because of actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, gender, disability, gender identity or sexual orientation of the victim.  Both are original cosponsors of the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act (H.R. 1913), which passed the House of Representatives on April 30^th of this year.  Frank has spoken out repeatedly on the subject of hate crimes, and Polis has vocally supported the legislation.

The Senate inserted a hate crimes provision in the 2010 defense authorization bill.  The fate of the legislation will depend on negotiations between the House and Senate conference on the defense bill, and lawmakers are optimistic that it will become law this year.