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By Brian Faler
Oct. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Congress gave final approval to legislation adding gays to the list of groups covered by U.S. hate-crime laws in what would be the biggest expansion of such protections in at least a generation.
The Senate voted 68 to 29 today to approve the plan as part of a defense policy measure now headed to President Barack Obama’s for his signature. The House approved the bill earlier this month. Democrats, who had been pushing the expansion for a decade, hailed the legislation.
“Hate crimes affect not just the victim - they victimize the entire community,” said Senator Ben Cardin, a Maryland Democrat. “We cannot allow our communities to be terrorized by hatred and violence.”
Republicans criticized the provision as unnecessary, saying violent crimes are illegal regardless of the offenders’ motivations.
“Hate crimes are wrong and that’s why they are already illegal,” said Senator Jim DeMint, a South Carolina Republican. “There’s no such thing as a criminal thought - only criminal acts. Once we endorse the concept of a thought crime, where will we draw the line?”
Attorney General Eric Holder called the measure “a milestone in helping protect Americans from the most heinous bias-motivated violence.” He said “it has been one of my highest personal priorities to ensure that this legislation finally becomes law and I applaud the Senate for joining the House in its vote today.”
Race, Religion, National Origin
The 1968 law currently protects people attacked because of their race, religion or national origin. There were 7,624 hate- crime incidents in 2007, almost 17 percent of which were based on sexual orientation, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The measure approved today, named after Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr., would add protection for those attacked because of their sexual orientation, gender or gender identity. Shepard was a Wyoming college student killed in 1998 because he was gay. Byrd was a black man dragged to his death that year behind a pickup truck.
The bill would give the Justice Department expanded authority to prosecute such crimes when local authorities don’t act. It provides possible life sentences for crimes involving murder, rape and kidnapping. The legislation authorizes the U.S. attorney general to provide grants to local police departments to pursue hate crimes. It also establishes a seven-year deadline to file charges in cases not involving death.
Human Rights Campaign
Joe Solmonese, president of the Washington-based Human Rights Campaign, which lobbies for gay rights, called the measure “our nation’s first major piece of civil rights legislation for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people,” adding, “too many in our community have been devastated by hate violence.”
Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, a Washington group that promotes marriage and family, called on Obama to “veto this legislation which violates the principle of equal justice under the law and also infringes on the free-speech rights of the American people.”
The bill is H.R. 2647.
Oct. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Congress gave final approval to legislation adding gays to the list of groups covered by U.S. hate-crime laws in what would be the biggest expansion of such protections in at least a generation.
The Senate voted 68 to 29 today to approve the plan as part of a defense policy measure now headed to President Barack Obama’s for his signature. The House approved the bill earlier this month. Democrats, who had been pushing the expansion for a decade, hailed the legislation.
“Hate crimes affect not just the victim - they victimize the entire community,” said Senator Ben Cardin, a Maryland Democrat. “We cannot allow our communities to be terrorized by hatred and violence.”
Republicans criticized the provision as unnecessary, saying violent crimes are illegal regardless of the offenders’ motivations.
“Hate crimes are wrong and that’s why they are already illegal,” said Senator Jim DeMint, a South Carolina Republican. “There’s no such thing as a criminal thought - only criminal acts. Once we endorse the concept of a thought crime, where will we draw the line?”
Attorney General Eric Holder called the measure “a milestone in helping protect Americans from the most heinous bias-motivated violence.” He said “it has been one of my highest personal priorities to ensure that this legislation finally becomes law and I applaud the Senate for joining the House in its vote today.”
Race, Religion, National Origin
The 1968 law currently protects people attacked because of their race, religion or national origin. There were 7,624 hate- crime incidents in 2007, almost 17 percent of which were based on sexual orientation, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The measure approved today, named after Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr., would add protection for those attacked because of their sexual orientation, gender or gender identity. Shepard was a Wyoming college student killed in 1998 because he was gay. Byrd was a black man dragged to his death that year behind a pickup truck.
The bill would give the Justice Department expanded authority to prosecute such crimes when local authorities don’t act. It provides possible life sentences for crimes involving murder, rape and kidnapping. The legislation authorizes the U.S. attorney general to provide grants to local police departments to pursue hate crimes. It also establishes a seven-year deadline to file charges in cases not involving death.
Human Rights Campaign
Joe Solmonese, president of the Washington-based Human Rights Campaign, which lobbies for gay rights, called the measure “our nation’s first major piece of civil rights legislation for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people,” adding, “too many in our community have been devastated by hate violence.”
Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, a Washington group that promotes marriage and family, called on Obama to “veto this legislation which violates the principle of equal justice under the law and also infringes on the free-speech rights of the American people.”
The bill is H.R. 2647.
This, is awesome news.
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