Matthew Shepard Act Passes Senate

Judy and Dennis ShepardThe Matthew Shepard Act, LGBT-inclusive hate crimes legislation, today passed the U.S. Senate. Judy and Dennis Shepard, parents of the slain college student for whom the bill is named, said “Today’s Senate vote sends a bold and unmistakable message that violent crimes committed in the name of hate must end.”

The House version of the Act passed in May. Now, the two versions must be reconciled, and President Bush must sign it. The Act is, however, an amendment to the “National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008,” or, as Timothy Kincaid of Box Turtle Bulletin succinctly put it, “the bill that funds the war in Iraq.” He comments:

President Bush will be in the unenviable position of either signing the bill and infuriating his social conservative supporters (about the only supporters he has left) or vetoing the bill and trying to explain to America that preventing hate crimes legislation is more important than paying our soldiers overseas.

Heh.

50 Democrats, 9 Republicans, and an Independent voted in favor of the amendment, or, more specifically, in favor of the cloture motion to end debate. Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) then asked for a voice vote, and the measure passed unopposed. Among those voting against cloture, however, was Senator Larry Craig (R-ID). No surprise there.

HRC notes this “marks the first time a trans-inclusive piece of federal legislation has ever passed both chambers of Congress.” True, and notable, but one suspects HRC is emphasizing this because of rumors that gender identity will be dropped from the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) in order to get the bill passed. Let’s hope it’s not true. All for one, and all that.

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