New York governor launches anti-hate crime initiative News
New York governor launches anti-hate crime initiative

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo [official website] unveiled statewide initiatives to combat [Gothamist report] hate crime and protect civil rights on Sunday. While addressing the congregation at Harlem’s Abyssinian Baptist Church he proposed the addition of a hate crimes unit in the state police as well as legislation to increase protection against discrimination against public school students. Cuomo also called for an expansion on human rights law as well as a public-private legal defense fund to provide legal assistance for immigrants who cannot afford aid. In an open letter [text, PDF] addressed to the student population of New York, he reiterated his intolerance to hate and discrimination and reminds immigrant students that they are “welcome here.”

Cuomo and civil rights groups including the ACLU are attributing the rise in hate crime to the election results of November 8. “The ugly political discourse of the election did not end on Election Day,” Cuomo said. “In many ways it has gotten worse, into a social crisis that now challenges our identity as a state and as a nation and our people.” Incidents of racism, sexism, and bigotry have been reported including a swastika painted [Reuters report] on a baseball dugout with the words “Make America White Again” in Wellsville, New York. The FBI released statistics [JURIST report] earlier this month showing that hate crimes against Muslims has risen 67 percent in the last year.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Pope Urban II sparks First Crusade

Pope Urban II threw his support behind what would become the First Crusade on November 27, 1095 during the Council of Clairmont. The Pope urged the council's participants to render aid to the Byzantine Empire, which was being attacked by the Seljuks. Pope Urban called for a wide coalition of rich and poor to combat the threat, which eventually resulted in the conquest of much of the Muslim-controlled Levant by the Crusaders and the establishment of the Crusader States. Read Pope Urban's address.  

Catholic Code of Canon Law revised

On November 27, 1983, the revised Code of Canon Law of the Roman Catholic Church went into effect. Learn more about the history of Canon Law from Professor Kenneth Pennington of the Catholic University of America's Columbus School of Law.

Alfred Nobel creates Nobel Prize in his will

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