September 27, 2007
Hate-Crimes Bill Advances in Senate
Gay.com reports:
The U.S. Senate on Thursday voted 60-39, the bare majority required, for a procedural move that piggybacks federal hate-crimes legislation onto a Pentagon appropriations bill.
Several Republican senators crossed the aisle to advance the hate crimes bill sponsored unsuccessfully since 2000 by Sens. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., and Gordon Smith, R-Ore.
The Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act adds sexual orientation, gender and gender identity to local hate crimes that the U.S. Justice Department has the authority to investigate. It closes loopholes in existing law that make many hate crimes difficult to prosecute, for example, attacks that take place in a private home.
. . .
Opponents, citing President Bush’s veto threat, predicted it ultimately would fail.
. . .
“Hate crimes are a form of domestic terrorism,” Kennedy said. “They are crimes against entire communities, against the whole nation, and against the fundamental ideals on which America was founded…
“We can’t let (Bush’s veto) threat stop us from doing the right thing,” he said. “Let’s display the same kind of courage that came from David Ritcheson,” a Texas hate-crime victim who testified before the House Judiciary Committee in support of the bill shortly before his suicide.
Filed under: Hate Crimes, U.S. Congress
