UPDATE: Senate Resolution Will Force Trump To Condemn Hate Groups

What's the story?

UPDATE: On Monday, September 11, the Senate unanimously approved a resolution condemning neo-Nazis, white supremacists and other hate groups. The joint resolution now goes to the House, where, as PBS reports, "identical language has been introduced by Virginia Reps. Tom Garrett and Gerry Connolly with support from the entire Virginia House delegation." If both chambers adopt the resolution, it will go to President Trump for his signature.

As our previous story, below, explained, this resolution would force the President to officially go on record condemning the hate groups that rallied in Charlottesville last month.

Original story published on September 6, 2017

Senate Resolution Will Force Trump To Condemn Hate Groups

A bipartisan group of senators have introduced a joint resolution condemning white nationalists, neo-Nazis, the Ku Klux Klan, white supremacists and other hate groups. If the resolution passes, it will require President Trump’s signature, making the President go on record as officially condemning the white supremacist rallies in Charlottesville last month.

Why does it matter?

Democratic Sens. Mark Warner (VA) and Tim Kaine (VA), and Republican Sens. Johnny Isakson (GA) and Cory Gardner (CO) introduced the five-page resolution which is backed by the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, the Anti-Defamation League and the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.

In a statement introducing the measure, Warner said:

"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. 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."

The resolution also urges the Trump administration to "use all available resources to address the threats posed by" white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups, which it calls “hateful expressions of intolerance that are contradictory to the values that define the people of the United States.”

The resolution describes Heyer’s death, and the injuries suffered by 19 other people after a car allegedly driven by a neo-Nazi slammed into them, as a "domestic terrorist attack."

As Politico explained, "The Senate routinely takes up nonbinding measures commemorating people and institutions in the form of concurrent resolutions and simple resolutions, which are both purely symbolic and not submitted to the White House for the president’s signature."

Joint resolutions like this one, however, are sent to the president’s desk to sign into law.

The potential politics involved cannot be ignored. The President received widespread condemnation – from across the political spectrum - for his remarks that the events in Charlottesville where caused by "hatred, bigotry and violence—on many sides." Trump also argued that there were “very fine people” on both sides of the demonstrations. As U.S. News and World Report put it, with this resolution “the senators are maneuvering to require Trump to choose between an explicit, one-sided condemnation of the white supremacist groups and risking a new round of recriminations if he vetoes it.”

The right-leaning Washington Examiner expressed concerns about the resolution. In an op-ed about the measure, Tom Rogan wrote that he worries about certain language in the resolution, especially its reference to "white nationalists" and call for “the Secretary of Homeland Security to ... prevent those groups from fomenting and facilitating additional violence."

"While I support legal action against groups ‘facilitating’ violence, to me, ‘white nationalists’ and ‘fomenting’ are unduly broad and subjective terms. After all, what is a "white nationalist?" Some will believe it includes writers such as Pat Buchanan or even Donald Trump, who express concerns about the perceived decline of white America. And if that's the case, it's not too much of a leap to believe that some may regard this resolution as a call to monitor these ‘fomenting’ individuals more closely.

What do you think?

Should the Senate pass this resolution? Should Trump go on record as condemning these hate groups? Or is the language too broad and subjective? Hit the Take Action button and tell your reps how to vote. Then comment below.

—Josh Herman

RELATED READING

• Trump Defends Early Statement; Says "Many Sides" Were Violent in Charlottesville

• Charlottesville Killing: Was it terrorism?

• Does the First Amendment Protect Charlottesville Protesters?

(Photo Credit: Library of Congress / Creative Commons)