Hate Crimes Prevention Act Passes U.S. House
What passed the house is an expansion of federal hate crime laws to include attacks based on a victim’s sexual orientation, gender identity or mental or physical disability.By Tanya Paperny
May 5, 2009
The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, HR 1913 passed the house last week, in a vote of 249-175 (18 Republicans for, 17 Democrats against). Read the full text of this bill here.
What passed the house is an expansion of federal hate crime laws to include attacks based on a victim’s sexual orientation, gender identity or mental or physical disability. More from Reuters:
The [previous] law, enacted four decades ago, limits federal jurisdiction over hate crimes to assaults based on race, color, religion or national origin. The bill would lift a requirement that a victim had to be attacked while engaged in a federally protected activity, like attending school, for it to be a federal hate crime.
Many of the opponents of HR 1913 used the argument that this bill would constitute an infringement on the freedom of speech of religious organizations. See an article from the Christian Post that makes this argument. The National Center for Transgender Equality has a one-pager that explains why this is not true.
Some low moments from yesterday’s floor debate:
- Rep. Gohmert (R-TX) said that the radical gay movement would use this bill to force churches to accept their lifestyle
- Rep. Pence (R-IN) claimed there’s no evidence of hate crimes against transgender people
- Rep. Foxx (R-NC) claimed the murder of Matthew Shepard was a hoax
You can follow all the crazy action on Twitter.
The Senate is expected to pass its version of hate crimes legislation, which was introduced last week by Sen. Ted Kennedy (S.909). Here’s a list of the 33 co-sponsors who have signed on already.
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