Hate Crimes Bill Approved By Congress, Extends Protection To Gays

WASHINGTON — Physical attacks on people based on their sexual orientation will join the list of federal hate crimes in a major expansion of the civil rights-era law Congress approved Thursday and sent to President Barack Obama.

A priority of the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., that had been on the congressional agenda for a decade, the measure expands current law to include crimes based on gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability. The measure is named for Matthew Shepard, the gay Wyoming college student murdered 11 years ago.

To assure its passage after years of frustrated efforts, Democratic supporters attached the measure to a must-pass $680 billion defense policy bill the Senate approved 68-29. The House passed the defense bill earlier this month.

Many Republicans, normally staunch supporters of defense bills, voted against the bill because of the hate crimes provision. All the no votes were Republicans except for Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., who supported the hate crimes provision but opposes what he says is the open-ended military commitment in Afghanistan.

"The inclusion of the controversial language of the hate crimes legislation, which is unrelated to our national defense, is deeply troubling," said Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala.

Hate crimes law enacted after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., in 1968 centered on crimes based on race, color, religion or national origin.

The expansion has long been sought by civil rights and gay rights groups. Conservatives have opposed it, arguing that it creates a special class of victims. They also have been concerned that it could silence clergymen or others opposed to homosexuality on religious or philosophical grounds.

Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay rights group, hailed the bill as "our nation's first major piece of civil rights legislation for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. Too many in our community have been devastated by hate violence."

Some 45 states have hate crimes statutes, and the bill would not change current practices where hate crimes are generally investigated and prosecuted by state and local officials.

But it does broaden the narrow range of actions – such as attending school or voting – that can trigger federal involvement and allows the federal government to step in if the Justice Department certifies that a state is unwilling or unable to follow through on an alleged hate crime.

The measure also provides federal grants to help state and local governments prosecute hate crimes and funds programs to combat hate crimes committed by juveniles.

"As we learned in the civil rights era, sometimes communities need assistance and resources from the federal government when they have to confront the most emotional and dangerous kinds of crimes," said Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo.

The bill also creates a federal crime to penalize attacks against U.S. service members on account of their service.

Attorney General Eric Holder said nearly 80,000 hate crime incidents have been reported to the FBI since he first testified before Congress in support of a hate crimes bill 11 years ago. "It has been one of my highest personal priorities to ensure that this legislation finally becomes law," he said.

The FBI says more than half of reported hate crimes are motivated by racial bias. Next most frequent are crimes based on religious bias, at around 18 percent, and sexual orientation, at 16 percent.

At the urging of Republicans the bill was changed to strengthen free speech protections to assure that a religious leader or any other person cannot be prosecuted on the basis of his or her speech, beliefs or association.

"Nothing in this legislation diminishes an American's freedom of religion, freedom of speech or press or the freedom to assemble," said Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md. "Let me be clear. The Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act targets acts, not speech."

That didn't convince Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., who said the bill was a "dangerous step" toward thought crimes. He asked whether the bill would "serve as a warning to people not to speak out too loudly about their religious views."

Tony Perkins, president of the conservative Family Research Council, said the measure was "part of a radical social agenda that could ultimately silence Christians and use the force of government to marginalize anyone whose faith is at odds with homosexuality."

Coming Out of the Closet at Work

What a day. I just came out at work it was filled with mixed emotions. I cried i laughed but above all i was able to educate them about being gay and all. I was really amazed that people still have stereotype mentality of gay people. I realized that most people ideaology of gay people is based on media and what they hear.

In reality the gay community has helped push the stereotype and all others see is the sex aspect and everything negative there is to life. Well this is for another day. Here is my office coming out topic enjoy.

Things to Consider If You're Considering Coming Out

Coming out of the closet is almost always at least a little scary. It can be even more frightening when your job is involved. How will your coworkers react? Will your job still be safe? Are you coming out because you want to, or do you feel obligated to do so? Is it practical to come out

on the job? These questions are just a few to consider when you are considering coming out of the closet at work.

How will your coworkers react?

Whether or not you like your coworkers, you'll still have to work with them after you come out of the closet. Coming out tactfully is going to largely influence their opinions, but other factors will influence your coworkers as well. If you have coworkers who are passionately homophobic, perhaps this isn't the right workplace for you to come out. Are your coworkers religious? While not all religious people are intolerant, that can be an influential factor. Try testing the waters a bit before you come out if you are unsure of your coworkers viewpoints on homosexuality. If something was in the news about a hate crime, gay marriage, a controversial commercial, or anything to do with homosexuality, see how they feel about the issue. Remember however that sometimes even those who are accepting or at least tolerant of those of other sexual orientations are going to have other factors involved as well when discussing such issues. For example, someone could be tolerant of homosexuals, yet be against gay marriage because they feel that in their religion marriage is between a man and a woman. Someone who feels that it is okay to poke fun at those who are different from you in the name of comedy may seem uncaring to you, yet they could still be an accepting person and just have a different sense of humor than you. Don't forget that such issues can be multi-faceted, so don't let one discussion dash your hopes of being able to come out in the workplace. It is important however, to ensure that you take your coworkers reactions into account so that you do not inadvertently end up being isolated.