US Lawmakers Extend 'Hate Crime' Shield to Gays
 Agence France-Presse
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October 23, 2009
US lawmakers approved legislation Thursday that extends decades-old "hate crimes" protections to cover for the first time those attacked because of their sexual orientation.
The measure, attached to a massive US defense spending bill, cleared the US Senate by a 68-29 margin after sailing through the House of Representatives in a 281-146 ballot on October 8.
It now goes to President Barack Obama, who has vowed to sign the measure into law. His predecessor, George W. Bush, had opposed the measure.
When enacted, the legislation will prohibit "hate crimes" based on a person's race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or mental or physical disability.
The measure, long a priority of the late senator Edward Kennedy, will encourage state, local and tribal law-enforcement officials to investigate and prosecute hate crimes.
It also punishes attacks on US military service members based on their military service.
The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr Hate Crimes Prevention Act, is named after two men killed in separate US bias attacks -- Shepard because he was gay, and Byrd because he was African-American.
Shepard, 21, died in October 1988 after suffering a beating by two men because he was gay, while Byrd, 49, was killed in June 1998 by three men in Texas. |
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