Jim Kenney Calls for Federal Investigation of Center City Gay-Bashing

City Councilman Jim Kenney has sent a letter to U.S. Attorney Zane Memeger calling on the Department of Justice to partner with local authorities to bring federal charges against anyone arrested for the attack on the gay couple last week in Center City.

Considering Pennsylvania’s lack of hate crime laws, Kenney requests that charges be brought up under the federal Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hame Crimes Prevention Act.

In a press release sent out this morning, he states that, “This violent and vicious attack on two human beings because they are gay is clearly a hate crime. It’s a crime of violent bias that calls for the full weight of Federal prosecution by the United States Department of Justice … No citizen should fear for their lives when walking on a public street in any city in America. This is not Uganda. This is not Russia. We will not stand for this in our City.”

Read his complete letter below.

Jim Kenney Letter to U.S. Attorney