Remarks By Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. at the Washington Lawyers' Committee...

Remarks By Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. at the Washington Lawyers'
Committee For Civil Rights and Urban Affairs Wiley A. Branton Awards Luncheon

WASHINGTON, June 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following remarks by
Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. at the Washington Lawyers' Committee For
Civil Rights and Urban Affairs Wiley A. Branton Awards Luncheon were released
today by the U.S. Department of Justice:

It is a pleasure for me to be here this afternoon, among so many friends and
familiar faces. I am honored to join with the Washington Lawyers' Committee in
paying well-earned tribute to some of this area's most dedicated lawyers and
public servants -- men and women who have given so much to the cause of equal
rights for all Americans.

The men and women we honor today have made extraordinary contributions -- not
just to their own communities, but to the cause of justice. Their service
sets an example of civic leadership to which all of us should aspire, and I
thank them for their efforts to build a more inclusive America. I would also
like to thank the Lawyers' Committee for its continuing work to address the
issues of discrimination and poverty that are prevalent in too many of our
nation's most vulnerable communities.

Over the years, the Justice Department has had occasion to work with the
Lawyers' Committee on these issues. I look forward to continuing that history
of collaboration during my tenure as Attorney General. In many ways, the
Lawyers' Committee and the Department of Justice have parallel missions.
Almost all of the Committees' project areas have an analog in the Department
of Justice, many in the Civil Rights Division -- equal employment, fair
housing, and disability rights, to name just a few. So I don't need to tell
you how vital it is for the Civil Rights Division to be well staffed and well
funded -- ready to vigorously enforce our nation's civil rights and
anti-discrimination laws.

One of my highest priorities upon returning to the Justice Department has been
to ensure that the Civil Rights Division continues its critical role of
ensuring that our nation lives up to the ideal of Equal Protection enshrined
so eloquently in the Declaration of Independence and the Fourteenth Amendment.
Over the last four months, with help from Congress and the White House, we
have provided the Civil Rights Division with the attention, the resources, and
the leadership support that its dedicated professionals deserve.

Today, I am proud to say that the "crown jewel" of the Justice Department is
on its way to regaining its luster. And I can report that the Civil Rights
Division has made important progress on several fronts since President Obama
took office in January. The Civil Rights Division has reinvigorated its amicus
practice, filing nine amicus briefs and seeking leave to file two more. The
Division has continued its work enforcing our nation's fair housing laws,
filing 16 cases -- including 7 pattern and practice cases -- and obtaining 8
consent decrees. In fact, in recent months, the Civil Rights Division has won
or settled enforcement actions in virtually every substantive area of civil
rights law.

These are important steps. But you and I know that there is much more work to
be done. The reconstruction and progress we seek will take years to achieve,
not weeks or months. And experience has taught us that the road to equality is
long and sometimes treacherous, marked by detours and occasionally by
setbacks.

As you know, the Supreme Court is currently considering a case that challenges
the constitutionality of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. No matter how
the Court resolves this issue, I pledge that the Justice Department will
continue working to enforce our nation's voting rights laws. And we will fight
efforts to discriminate in the voting booth just as earnestly as we fight
efforts to discriminate in the job or housing markets. You have my word, my
friends. Our commitment to Equal Protection -- and to full participation in
our nation's elections -- will not waiver. Never.

And yet, even as the Department of Justice fulfills its traditional
enforcement responsibilities, it must respond to new challenges and resurgent
threats. Over the last several weeks, we have witnessed brazen acts of
violence, committed in places that many would have considered unthinkable -- a
sacred memorial in the nation's capital, a recruiting station for the nation's
armed forces, and a church in the nation's heartland. The violence in
Washington, Little Rock, and Wichita reminds us of the potential threat posed
by violent extremists and the tragedy that ensues when reasoned discourse is
replaced by armed confrontation.

As the President noted during his recent address at Notre Dame, few topics
provoke more intense or more personal disagreement than our nation's debate
about abortion. There are strong views on both sides. And the constitution
guarantees each of us the right to express those views, regardless of
viewpoint or political affiliation. Indeed, it is only through the frank and
civil exchange of strongly-held views that people with different opinions can
achieve the common ground that President Obama spoke of last month.

But neither our respect for the First Amendment's guarantee of free speech,
nor our earnest hope for common ground, can justify the violence we saw in
Kansas. We will not tolerate murder, or the threat of violence, masquerading
as political activism. So let me be clear, the Justice Department will use
every tool at its disposal to protect the rights ensured under our
constitution. And we will do all that we can to deter violence against
reproductive health care providers and to prosecute those who commit such
violence to the fullest extent of the law.

Likewise, the Justice Department will do all that it can to bring the
perpetrators of bias-motivated crimes to justice. That includes working with
Congress to strengthen existing federal hate crimes laws. The House of
Representatives has already passed legislation that would accomplish this goal
and the Department of Justice is working with the Senate as it begins
consideration of a similar hate crimes statute.

I testified in support of stronger federal hate crimes legislation when I was
Deputy Attorney General, almost ten years ago. My friends, that is far too
long to wait. Too long to wait for the authority to prosecute offenses
motivated by a person's gender, disability or sexual orientation. Too long to
wait for the tools necessary to staunch the rising tide of bias-motivated
violence directed at the Latino community. Put simply, too long to wait for
justice.

The time has come for Congress to finish its work on this critically important
legislation and we look forward to working with members on both sides of the
aisle to achieve that goal.

The violence we have seen during the last month may seem daunting to some. But
I view these tragedies as a call to action. More than forty years ago, in the
wake of devastating civil unrest in many of our nation's largest cities, a
group of lawyers and civic activists banded together to form the Lawyers'
Committee, convinced that they could leave a lasting and productive legacy for
their community -- convinced that they could help to build an America in which
violence and injustice of the kind they had witnessed was a thing of the past.
Against all odds, they succeeded. And so shall we. Let us commit ourselves --
regardless of party affiliation or political viewpoint - to the difficult work
ahead: building an America in which the kind of violence we have seen these
last few weeks is but a distant memory. And building an America in which all
of our Nation's citizens, in equal measure, enjoy the fruits of our founding
documents.

Thank you.

SOURCE U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs, +1-202-514-2007, TDD,
+1-202-514-1888