Matthew Shepard Act Wins Approval from Judiciary Committee
Despite Republican efforts to bog down its progress, HR 1913, the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, has cleared its first hurdle Thursday, winning approval from the House Judiciary Committee by a 15-12 vote.
Also known as the Matthew Shepard Act, so named after a gay college student who was murdered in 1998 near Laramie, Wyo., the bill is intended, among other things; to allow the federal authorities to assist in the investigation and prosecution of hate crimes committed against LGBT people that result in death or serious injury.
Under the bill, crimes of violence using fire, a gun or a bomb that are motivated by gender or sexual orientation would be punishable by a fine and up to 10 years in prison. For several other offenses, including kidnapping and murder, the bill would provide for up to a life sentence in prison.
Congressman Jerrold Nadler, hailed the progress of the bill. Rep. Nadler has been an original cosponsor of the bill since its inception and chaired much of the proceedings on the legislation.
He was quoted from his website as saying, “The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act is an essential step toward giving teeth to our local and national hate crime laws. That Americans would be singled out and victimized because of their race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or religion is despicable. That our government currently lacks the ability to fully investigate such heinous crimes and prosecute the perpetrators is shameful.”
With hate crime incidence increasingly prevalent nationwide – particularly against the LGBT community – the Act would give the U.S. Department of Justice jurisdiction to assist states and localities in the investigation and prosecution of these crimes.
The legislation will now move to the House floor for a vote that could occur as soon as next week.
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this what :Kay Bailey Hutchison said
Dear Friend:
Thank you for contacting me regarding hate crime legislation. I welcome your thoughts and comments on this issue.
In the previous Congress, Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) introduced S. 1105, the Matthew Shepard Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act. This legislation would have provided federal assistance to states, local jurisdictions, and Indian tribes to prosecute hate crimes. The bill defined a hate crime as a violent crime motivated by a prejudice based on actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, or disability. When the language was offered as an amendment to the Defense Authorization bill, I voted against including it. The language was removed prior to final passage of the measure.
Representative John Conyers (D-MI) recently introduced H.R. 1913, the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009. This measure contains provisions similar to those contained in S. 1105 and equivalent legislation in the House of Representatives, H.R. 1952, both of which were introduced during the previous Congress.
I continue to believe that all violent crimes should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, regardless of the underlying motivation. Should legislation regarding hate crimes come before the full Senate, you may be certain that I will keep your views in mind.
I appreciate hearing from you, and I hope that you will not hesitate to keep in touch on any issue of concern to you.
Sincerely,
Kay Bailey Hutchison
United States Senator
284 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-5922 (tel)
202-224-0776 (fax)
http://hutchison.senate.gov
Big surprise… coming from someone who represents a state that would just rather secede from the Union and go back to the grand old days of the Confederacy
Well hey the majority of us DON’T want to secede, lol. This is fantastic news here…I’m extremely excited that it might get passed this time.