Hate Crimes Bill On The Way To President Obama's Desk

[Senator]

The Senate passed groundbreaking legislation Thursday that would make it a federal crime to assault an individual because of his or her sexual orientation or gender identity. The expanded hate crimes law now goes to President Obama's desk. President George W. Bush had threatened to veto a similar measure. The bill is named for Matthew Shepard, a gay Wyoming teen who died after being beaten in 1998.

[Sharon Janis]

Last week Obama signed the hate crimes bill... Yay! I'm delighted that gays, lesbians, and transgendered people are now included in federal hate crimes legislation. It's about time.

This hate crimes bill was attached to a a measure outlining the Pentagon's budget. This was deemed necessary to get the hate crimes bill passed. The fact that many states already have hate-crime laws that include sexual orientation leaves me wondering why support for the federal bill wasn't already strong enough.

I think there should be a bill restricting lumping unrelated topics together in one package!

Anyway, maybe I shouldn't be looking this gift horse in the mouth. Except, I don't think the bill was a gift. It was more of a necessity.