📧 At War Pitch
Hi, I was given At War's pitching guidelines by Lauren Katzenberg, which refertchred to this email address for sending pitches. Without my bio, I think I kept it under 400 words, and I hope you will consider picking it up. Thank you for your consideration!
Hate Crimes Against Military Families is a Thing. There's an Act For That. (quick investigation)
Ten years after President Barack Obama signed the 2009 Hate Crimes Prevention Act (HCPA) into law, many rights created by the bill remain unknown and unprotected. Section 4712 of the bill, dubbed “The Soldiers Amendment” by then-Senator Jeff Sessions and now codified in law as 18 USC § 1389, currently protects 4.8 million servicemembers and their dependents as well as an unknown number who are within five years of discharge. These rights mean nothing if the Department of Justice fails to enforce them, the Department of Defense fails to inform families of them, and the Commission on Civil Rights fails to hold these agencies accountable, all of which appear to be the case.
This article is timely because six members of the House of Representatives recently sent an open letter to the DoJ and FBI, and this story will help ensure Attorney General Barr and Director Christopher Wray respond. Furthermore, the US Commission on Civil Rights released a hate crimes report the week of Veterans Day that ignored the rights of military families, and this story would expose that oversight. As a quick investigative piece, an article like this would be of interest to military personnel, their families, and many veterans. I would not argue for policy change but focus on reporting out the legislative and executive history of this little-known law. If this article is picked up, working on with the New York Times would help me secure interviews with the following individuals;
Jeff Sessions, Candidate for US Senate from Alabama, and any congressional staff involved in the 2009 drafting of Section 4712 of the HCPA.
Two men convicted of related crimes (but not charged under §1389), Terrence McNeil and Travis Martin, as well as attorneys and 100+ victims involved in their cases.
Spokespersons for DoD, DoJ, USCCR, and other agencies.
I wrote on a related matter for The Hill in 2017, and based on research undertaken since then, I think there is a potential for more stories about the civil rights of soldiers and veterans.
Bio:
Logan Isaac is a writer and researcher with over 20 publications to his name, including “Reborn on the Fourth of July,” awarded a Publishers Weekly Starred Review, and “Ponder Christian Soldiers,” named the Best Article Series of 2016 by the Evangelical Press Association. Before that, he served in the United States Army as a forward observer in the 82nd Airborne and 25th Infantry (Light) divisions from 2000 to 2006. For his service in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Logan received an Army Commendation Medal, a Valorous Unit Award, and a Meritorious Unit Award. He holds research degrees from Duke University and the University of St Andrews in Scotland.
20191205 0534
Hi Logan,
Thanks for your pitch. It's an interesting topic, but we don't assign reported pieces to advocacy professionals. I think it would be better if you submitted an op-ed on the topic, as you have written in the past, to the Opinion desk or to another outlet. In the meantime, we'll keep an eye on the topic for a reported piece.
Kindly,
Lauren (Katzenberg)
20191205 0950
Oh shoot, if I’d seen something about that in the pitching guidelines, or if you’ve mentioned it to me when you shared them with me, I wouldn’t of bothered you. Sorry!
Hopefully the congressional letter and the hate crimes report that excluded military families will be noticed and seen as newsworthy by reporters soon.
20200101
I forgot to ask for a contact in the opinion section. Can you provide me one?
Thank you!
