Victory! U.S. House Passes Hate Crimes Bill!

by Eric Grignol · 2009-04-30 06:30:00 UTC
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Hate Crimes Legislation Passes in House

Things are moving fast this week! Thanks goes out to all of you who called in to urge your legislators to pass the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, also known in the U.S. Senate as the Matthew Shepard Act. Passed with a bipartisan vote 249 - 175, we have much to celebrate, as this brings all Americans "one step closer to protection from hate violence," as the HRC said yesterday.

A statement from the White House by President Obama urges the Senate to take swift action and pass the bill. This is a far cry from the previous Administration, where former President Bush firmly and repeatedly opposed similar bills introduced during his two terms in office.

This is a great victory, but the fight on this is far from over. Opponents are stepping up their efforts, distorting the message of the bill, saying it makes "pedophiles a protected class." We too, can intensify our activism. Send Judy Shepard's powerful video to ten friends and ask them to write the Senate to take immediate action. It's been ten years since she lost her son to anti-gay violence and hate. Can we wait any longer?

Eric Grignol
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