House Expands Hate Crimes Measure to Protect Gays and Lesbians

The House passed legislation Thursday that would make it a crime to assault people because of their sexual orientation, reports the Wall Street Journal.

Civil rights groups have attempted for more than a decade to increase hate-crimes legislation, which protects people victimized on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, and disability, to include gays, but Republicans have opposed the expansion.

The vote passed 281 to 146.  

The Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act, named for memory of Matthew Shepard, a gay Wyoming college student brutally murdered in 1998, expands existing laws giving the Department of Justice jurisdiction in crimes where prejudice was the motivating factor.  The measure also makes grants available to state and local communities to train authorities to better address these crimes.

The US Congress approved legislation for the measure, which also extends protection to victims of gender-based attacks, was attached to a must-pass defense appropriation bill.  The Senate could approve the legislation as early as next week.

People For the American Way President Michael B. Keegan issued the following statement:

"Last night's vote was an important step towards finally enacting these hate crimes protections into law. This bill will help ensure that fewer Americans will become victims of violence simply because of who they are, while at the same time providing strong First Amendment protections. Limited hate crimes protections have existed for years on the basis of race and religion. It's long past time to expand this to include other targeted groups. I'm especially proud that this bill includes protections based on gender identity-the first time gender identity will receive positive protection in federal law.

"The public overwhelmingly supports these protections, and law enforcement groups have consistently spoken out in agreement. I hope that the Senate will act quickly to send this legislation to the President's desk. There's still much more work to do to ensure equal justice under law for gay and lesbian Americans."