Congress Widens Hate Crimes Law to Include Gender Identity

The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act was included as part of a $680 billion defense spending act, which President Obama signed at a ceremony at the White House.

The measure makes it a crime to assault people based on gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability. Federal hate crimes protections already cover race, ethnicity and religion.

Democratic supporters attached the measure to the essential defense policy bill over the objections of some Republicans.

“After more than a decade of opposition and delay, we've passed inclusive hate crimes legislation to help protect our citizens from violence based on what they look like, who they love, how they pray, or who they are,” President Obama said before he signed the bill.

Legislation passed after long battle

	The late Sen. Kennedy first proposed hate crime protections for sexual orientation in 1998.

The late Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts was the first to introduce a bill extending hate crime protections for sexual orientation with the Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 1998.

Conservatives have opposed hate crimes legislation over concerns that such measures criminalize a motivation and do not treat violent crimes equally. They also have voiced concerns that religious leaders who preach against homosexuality could be targeted for prosecution.

“The idea that we’re going to pass a law that’s going to add further charges to someone based on what they may have been thinking, I think is wrong,” said House Minority leader John Boehner of Ohio.

Kevin Naff, editor of the Washington Blade, a newspaper for the gay community based in Washington, D.C., had cautious praise for the bill.

“For the purposes of this one federal law, we are now equal. There are many other federal laws in which we are not equal. It’s a long way to go, it’s a positive step and now on bigger and better things,” Naff said in an interview.

Hate crimes in the U.S.

	The murder of Matthew Shepard brought renewed national attention to hate crimes.

The law is named for two well-known victims of hate crimes: Matthew Shepard, a gay man who was abducted and beaten to death in 1998 in Wyoming; and James Byrd, a black man who was killed by white supremacists in Texas the same year. Shepard's mother, Judy, was among those at the White House bill signing ceremony Wednesday.

A hate crime is when a victim is targeted for being a member of a certain group. Different states define hate crimes differently.

More than 77,000 hate-crime incidents were reported nationwide by the FBI between 1998 and 2007.

In 2007, the FBI reported 9,535 people were victims of hate crimes. Race was the motivating factor in 52 percent of the cases, while sexual orientation was the factor for 15.9 percent. 

Gay voters demand more from Obama

	Former President Bill Clinton instituted the controversial "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy for the military.

President Obama, who won the support of 70 percent of gay voters during the 2008 election, has come under fire for not acting on his promises to help the community.

He made a campaign promise to reverse the military’s “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy on gay and lesbian service members, but changes to the policy have yet to move forward.

Naff said the next step would be a federal law to protect gay and lesbian workers against discrimination in the workplace.

“Not everyone is a victim of a hate crime. Not everyone wants to get married. But everyone needs to have a job," Naff said.