Hate crimes bill to protects gays, disabled people reaches U.S. Senate

From The AP:

WASHINGTON — Legislation to extend federal hate crimes protections to gays and the disabled reached the Senate floor July 15 with the best prospects in years to become law.

The measure, which also makes it easier for federal prosecutors to get involved in hate crimes cases, passed the House in a similar version in April and enjoys solid support in the Senate. And for the first time since Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., first introduced the bill in 1997, pro-bill Democrats control both chambers of Congress and the White House.

President Barack Obama, unlike his predecessor, George W. Bush, backs the legislation. Attorney General Eric Holder has urged Congress to act so the government can prosecute cases of violence based on gender and sexual orientation.

"Hate crimes are a sad and tragic reality in America," Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said in urging approval of the measure.

Passage was not a certainty. The bill was offered as an amendment to a $680 billion bill approving defense programs, a move that Sen. John McCain of Arizona, top Republican on the Armed Services Committee, said was "highly inappropriate."

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has called for a vote, requiring 60 supporters, to move forward on the hate crimes measure. That vote could come as early as Thursday, but timing for a final vote on the amendment was uncertain.

Most Republicans oppose the legislation, saying it infringes on states' rights or could lead to the criminalization of religious expressions of opposition to homosexuality.

Current hate crimes law applies to acts of violence motivated by prejudice against a person's race, color, national origin or religion. That would expand under the legislation to include crimes targeting people because of gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability.

Supporters noted that of the nearly 8,000 hate crimes reported to the FBI every year, about 15 percent are linked to sexual orientation, third after those involving race and religion.

Existing federal hate crimes law also applies only to crimes where the victim is engaged in narrowly defined activities such as serving on a jury, attending a public school, participating in a program administered by a state or local government or involving interstate commerce. The proposed legislation would eliminate the "federally protected activities" requirement.

It approves $5 million in federal grants to help states and local authorities investigate and prosecute hate crimes, provides forensic and prosecutorial assistance and promotes programs to combat hate crimes committed by children and teenagers.

The measure permits the federal government to take over a case only when the Justice Department certifies that a state cannot or will not effectively handle it.

Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and other supporters also stressed that religious leaders or others who voice objections to homosexuality could not be held liable. The bill "does not criminalize speech or hateful thoughts," he said. "It seeks only to punish action, violent action, that undermines the core values of our nation."

The bill is named for Matthew Shepard, the Wyoming college student who was targeted because he was gay in a fatal attack in 1998.

Forty-five states have hate crimes laws of various scope, according to the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights.