It is distressing to me that we live in an age in which we still must fight to protect our civil rights as Americans, in which a hate crime perpetrated against someone based their sexual orientation can go unpunished, and in which discrimination is being written into our laws.

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Conyers's statement was "in marked contrast to the repeated calls from other members of Congress and Obama administration officials to prosecute (or kill) [WikiLeaks head Julian] Assange immediately. Many feel that the WikiLeaks publication was offensive. Indeed when everyone in this town is joined together calling for someone’s head that is it a pretty strong sign we need to slow down and take a closer look.

Representative for Michigan's 13th congressional district serving in Congress since 1965 (the district was numbered as the 1st District until 1993 and as the 14th district from 1993 to 2013). S.