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Protecting The Minorities From Bigotry- Statements Made On The Passage Of The Matthew Shepard Act

10/29/09-by Bridgette P. LaVictoire
Yesterday, President Barack Obama signed into law the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crime Prevention bill. The law was named for two men who were the victims of crimes due to their sexual orientation (Shepard) and race (Byrd). The law extended the hate crimes protections to sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, and disability. It also removed the provision from existing laws that these protections are intended specifically for people who are engaged in activities that are considered Federal in nature such as attending school or going to court.

In released statements following the signing, President Obama stated “This is the culmination of a struggle that has lasted more than a decade…But the cause endured and the struggle continued, waged by the family of Matthew Shepard, by the family of James Byrd, by folks who held vigils and led marches, by those who rallied and organized and refused to give up, by the late Senator Ted Kennedy who fought so hard for this legislation and all who toiled for years to reach this day.” The President ran down the statistics for the last decade. In that time, 12,000 known hate crimes have been perpetrated based upon the assaulted’s sexual orientation. Roughly 7,600 hate crimes of one form or another occur every year.

“At root, this isn’t just about our laws; this is about who we are as a people. This is about whether we value one another — whether we embrace our differences, rather than allowing them to become a source of animus…But we sense where such cruelty begins: the moment we fail to see in another our common humanity — the very moment when we fail to recognize in a person the same fears and hopes, the same passions and imperfections, the same dreams that we all share,” the President went on to say.

Said Judy Shepard, Matthew’s mother and the president of the Matthew Shepard Foundation Board of Directors. “The legislation went through so many versions and so many votes that we had to constantly keep our hopes in check to keep from getting discouraged,” she continued. “But with President Obama’s support and the continually growing bipartisan majorities in the House and Senate lining up behind the bill this year, it became clear that 2009 was the year it would finally happen.”

Shepard added, “We are incredibly grateful to Congress and the president for taking this step forward on behalf of hate crime victims and their families, especially given the continuing attacks on people simply for living their lives openly and honestly.”

At the signing was Representative Tammy Baldwin. Rep. Baldwin is openly lesbian, and one of the first openly gay or lesbian members of Congress to be elected. She and Jared Polis were both elected after coming out. Representative Barney Frank did not come out of the closet until after he had already won election. Baldwin is also the co-chair of the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus. She said this about the death of Matthew Shepard on the day of the signing of the bill that, in part, bears his name, “I remember where I was and what was happening when the news of Matthew Shepard’s murder began to circulate. I remember how many people I encountered who felt scared and frightened themselves because such a heinous attack had been perpetrated against him because of his sexual orientation. It is high time that this Act become law. It has been an effort that I’ve worked on ever since I came to the Congress of the United States, and I think it will send a very powerful message.”

Below is a video from Rep. Baldwin regarding the passage of the Matthew Shepard Act.