Wisconsin Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Announces Public Meeting: Civil Rights and Hate Crime in Wisconsin

MILWAUKEE, July 21, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Wisconsin Advisory Committee to U.S. Commission on Civil Rights will convene a public meeting on Monday, August 29^th, 2016, from 1:00 pm to 4:30 pm CDT, at the Hampton Inn and Suites Conference Center. This meeting is open to the public, and parking is available free of charge at the event center.  Persons with disabilities requiring reasonable accommodations should contact the Midwest Regional office prior to the meeting to make appropriate arrangements.

This meeting will include a series of panel discussions to examine the formation and activity of hate groups, and the effectiveness of hate crime laws in Wisconsin. The Committee will hear testimony from community members, advocates, academics, and legal professionals. Members of the public will be invited to speak during the open forum session, scheduled from 4:00 to 4:30 pm.  The Committee will also accept written testimony submitted to [email protected] by September 1, 2016.

By their very nature, hate incidents and hate crimes result from targeted discrimination on the basis of one or more federally protected categories. Hate crime laws vary widely from state to state, leading to significant variations in how such crimes are approached and prosecuted, depending on the jurisdiction in which the crime occurred. Through this project, the Committee will examine potential equal protection violations and discrimination based upon the race, national origin, religion, sex, disability, and age of hate crime victims in Wisconsin. Committee Chair Naheed Bleecker said, "The Committee looks forward to hearing directly from those impacted as we consider meaningful recommendations to bring the community together.  We hope to address this important topic through constructive dialogue."

The Committee will issue findings and recommendations in a report to the full Commission after all testimony has been received.

The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights is an independent, bipartisan agency charged with studying and advising the President and Congress on civil rights matters and issuing a federal civil rights enforcement report. For information about the reports and meetings of the Commission and its State Advisory Committees, visit http://www.usccr.gov. Please follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/usccrgov.

Media contact: Melissa Wojnaroski
Civil Rights Analyst
(312) 353-8311
[email protected] 

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SOURCE U.S. Commission on Civil Rights

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http://www.usccr.gov