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November 24, 2009

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Senator gets apology for racist e-mail

Wednesday, Feb. 12, 1997 | 4:23 a.m.

Neal, D-North Las Vegas, said he got a follow-up e-mail that said, "Please accept my apology for the letter I wrote you. Sometimes we do and say things we don't mean. I'm truly sorry."

But Neal said he's not sure that the apology came from the same person who wrote the first e-mail that shocked him and other members of the Nevada Senate.

He noted the first, unsigned note had misspellings and grammatical errors but the second note, also unsigned, was free of such errors.

Neal had offered a $300 reward for anyone who could supply the name, address and phone number of the author of the first note, filled with derogatory racial statements about affirmative action, prison populations, crime and Neal.

"I would like to meet him," Neal said. "Not to harm him. I would not punch him in the nose in the first three seconds - I would listen. I am not violent, but I believe in the law of self-defense. I want this individual to know that."

Sen. Maurice Washington, R-Sparks, also a black, said he got a similar message, although not as offensive. He said he wants the author to know that the senators have respect for each other, despite political differences.

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