The Daily Background

It’s been almost a decade after Matthew Sheperd was brutally beaten to death simply because he was gay. His killers served only a short time in prison because of loopholes in existing laws and the glaring lack of hate crimes legislation to protect gays and lesbians, just as hate crimes legislation exists to protect others by race, gender, and religion. At the time, Congressional Democrats tried to enact hate crimes laws, but Republicans obstructed them.

Well, today the Senate finally voted 60-39 for the Matthew Shepard Act, a bill which protects LGBT Americans under hate crimes laws just as other Americans are protected under hate crimes legislation designed for race, religion and gender.

A clear majority of Americans favor the anti-hate crimes law, even including a majority of Republicans. A similar version of the bill passed the House earlier this year.

Said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on the bill, “Our troops are on the front lines in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere fighting against evil and hate. We owe it to them to uphold those same principles here at home.”

(Sidebar: Among those who voted against the bill? Larry “I am not gay” Craig.)

The Senate needed 60 votes to avert the threat of a GOP filibuster, but didn’t pass the 66 vote hurdle needed to make the bill veto-proof. And the president will veto it, and the Pentagon spending bill it’s tacked on to, because he doesn’t think gay and lesbian Americans should have protection under hate crimes laws like other minority groups have.

Filed under: Z-TDB Blog