Tom Umberg Fights for Civil Rights



On a summer night six years ago, Ted and Lillie Heisser woke to their
worst nightmare: a cross burning on their front lawn. Shaken, they
turned to Tom Umberg - then Assistant U.S. Attorney - to find justice.
Umberg denounced the cross-burning as an act of racist terrorism,
convicted the skinhead perpetrator and successfully demanding maximum
jail time.

Shortly after, Umberg witnessed another act of racism - Republican-hired
security guards intimidating Latinos from voting. Umberg vowed to
defeat the extremists behind the intimidation, and two years later kept
his pledge - beat the Republican - and took his seat in the State Assembly.

There, he passed the toughest hate crime law in the nation and fought for
AB 101 and AB 2601, outlawing job and housing discrimination based on
sexual orientation.

As Attorney General, Umberg's principles of fairness and justice will
keep him fighting to protect the constitutional rights of every
California citizen.

DAN LUNGREN: A RECORD OF SHAME

As Attorney General, Lungren refused to collect hate crime statistics,
crippling our ability to prosecute civil rights cases.

In Congress, Lungren opposed the Martin Luther King Holiday, voted to
weaken the federal Voting Rights Act, and opposed reparations to
Japanese-Americans interned during World War II.

Opposed to gay rights, Lungren said publicly that homosexuality is a
"sin" and voted against AIDS legislation.

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California Voter Foundation 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997 & 1998