Congress Passes Expanded Hate Crimes Bill

The US Congress has passed and President Obama is expected to sign a bill opposed by President Bush making it a federal felony to physically assault a person because of the victim's sexual orientation, gender, disability or gender identity.

Tucked into the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 (H.R. 2647), the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act expands the existing federal hate crimes laws beyond assaults motivated by religion, race, color or national origin.

The bill also increases the power of federal law enforcement agencies to take part in state and local investigations and prosecutions of hate crimes.

The bill also makes it a federal felony to attack members of the US military because of their service.

Widely supported by civil rights groups, the bill is named for Matthew Shepard, a gay University of Wyoming student who was beaten to death in 1998 because of his sexual orientation.

According to the FBI's 2007 Hate Crime Statistics, 50.8 percent of hate crimes were motivated by racial bias, 18.4 percent by a religious bias, 16.6 percent by a sexual orientation bias, and 13.2 percent by an ethnicity/national origin bias. One percent of hate crimes involved a bias against a disability.

Also See:
House Passes Hate Crime Bill Opposed by Bush
American Hater: How Do We Hate Each Other?

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