Congress Extends Hate Crime Bill

According to CNN, the Senate passed legislation on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2009, that would make it a federal crime to assault an individual because of his or her sexual orientation or gender identity. The bill, which was attached to a $680 billion measure outlining the Pentagon's budget, was passed by the House on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2009. The 68-29 Senate vote to approve the defense spending bill is a milestone in helping protect Americans from bias-motivated violence. Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, called the measure "our nation's first major piece of civil rights legislation for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people." The bill is named for Matthew Shepard, a homosexual Wyoming teenager who died after being kidnapped and severely beaten in October 1998, and James Byrd Jr., an African-American man dragged to death in Texas the same year. "Knowing that the president will sign it, unlike his predecessor, has made all the hard work this year to pass it worthwhile," said Judy Shepard, board president of the Matthew Shepard Foundation, which is named for her son. Shepard believes that hate crimes continue to affect far too many Americans who are trying to live their lives honestly. She wants people to know that their government will protect them from violence, and provide appropriate justice for victims as well as their families. This month, President Barack Obama told the Human Rights Campaign-the country's largest gay rights group-that the nation still needs to make significant changes to ensure equal rights for homosexual citizens. "Despite the progress we've made, there are still laws to change and hearts to open," he said during his address at the dinner for the Human Rights Campaign. "This fight continues now, and I'm here with the simple message: I'm here with you in that fight." Obama has also shown his support in other ways. He has called for the repeal of the ban on gay people serving openly in the military, referred to as the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. Furthermore, he has urged Congress to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and pass the Domestic Partners Benefit and Obligations Act. Several religious groups have expressed concern that a hate crimes law could be used to criminalize conservative speech that relates to subjects such as abortion or homosexuality. However, according to CNN, Attorney General Eric Holder has asserted that any federal hate-crimes law would be used only to prosecute violent acts based on bias, as opposed to the prosecution of speech based on controversial racial or religious beliefs. The previous hate crimes law, enacted after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., in 1968 centered merely on crimes based on race, color, religion or national origin. The expanded federal hate crimes law now travels onward to Obama's desk. President George W. Bush had previously threatened to veto a similar measure. More than 77,000 hate-crime incidents were reported by the FBI between 1998 and 2007, or "nearly one hate crime for every hour of every day over the span of a decade," said Attorney General Eric Holder. According to NPR, the "FBI says more than half of reported hate crimes are motivated by racial bias. Next most frequent are crimes based on religious bias, at around 18 percent, and sexual orientation, at 16 percent."