UPDATED - Senators introduce resolution condemning white supremacist groups

[DonViejo]

Last edited Wed Sep 6, 2017, 12:38 PM - Edit history (1)

Source: The Hill



BY MALLORY SHELBOURNE - 09/06/17 10:49 AM EDT

A bipartisan group of senators will introduce a resolution Wednesday condemning white supremacist groups and calling on President Trump to confront threats from hate groups in the wake of violence last month in Charlottesville, Va.

Sens. Mark Warner (D-Va.), Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) will introduce the resolution, which has the backing of the Anti-Defamation League, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.

The resolution condemns hate groups including white supremacists, white nationalists, neo-Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan, while calling on Trump and the administration to “speak out against hate groups that espouse racism, extremism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism, and White supremacy.”

The resolution also calls on Trump to utilize resources to “address the growing prevalence” of hate groups in the United States while specifically labeling the incident at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville a “domestic terrorist attack.”



Read more: http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/349411-senators-introduce-bipartisan-resolution-condemning-white-supremacist-groups

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UPDATE:

Senate resolution to force Trump's hand on condemning Charlottesville hate groups

By SEUNG MIN KIM 09/06/2017 06:00 AM EDT Updated 09/06/2017 10:26 AM EDT

-snip-

But backers of the Charlottesville resolution have strategically chosen to introduce their measure as a joint resolution, which means it will be sent to Trump to sign into law.

“Let there be no mistake: what happened in Charlottesville was an act of domestic terrorism perpetrated by a white supremacist, one that tragically cut short the life of a young woman, Heather Heyer, who was speaking out against hatred and bigotry,” Warner said in a statement introducing the measure. “We will be pressing our colleagues to swiftly and unanimously approve this resolution in order to send a strong message that the United States Congress unconditionally condemns racist speech and violence.”

Kaine added: “During the violent white supremacist demonstrations in Charlottesville last month, our country lost three brave Virginians in Heather Heyer and Virginia State Police officers, Lieutenant Jay Cullen and Trooper Pilot Berke Bates. This resolution honors their lives while supporting the Charlottesville community as it heals and rightfully calls on us all, including President Trump, to do better as we combat acts of hate.”

The five-page resolution not only honors the victims of the deadly clashes and condemns the hate groups, but also urges the Trump administration to “use all available resources to address the threats posed by those groups.” The measure calls white supremacy and neo-Nazism “hateful expressions of intolerance that are contradictory to the values that define the people of the United States.”

Trump fueled an uproar and received widespread condemnation from both political parties last month for his response to the deadly white nationalist protests in Charlottesville by blaming the “hatred, bigotry and violence — on many sides” and arguing that there were “very fine people” on both sides of the Aug. 12 clash in the Virginia city. The protests killed Heyer, 32, in addition to Cullen and Bates, who had been responding to the scene.

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/09/06/senate-charlottesville-trump-hate-groups-242361

[PurgedVoter]

1. This is a positive step.

I am tired of racism and fascism being ignore.

[Archae]

2. Nice symbolic gesture.

That won't do diddly squat.

[BadgerMom]

4. I disagree.

If we affirm that having a leader like Trump encourages these groups, we should do what we can to demonstrate opposition. It's equally important to take the moral stand publicly. It won't change the world, but it's a nudge in the right direction. I'd love more than a nudge, but until that's possible, we must do what we can while keeping an eye on the larger prize.

[Gore1FL]

3. It will be interesting to see who votes against it, or doesn't vote. nt

[ancianita]

5. FINALLY. They have to stand together as the congressional anti-fascists who will not be co-opted.