Tag Archives: hate crimes act

Breaking news from HRC Backstory: The U.S. Senate today achieved cloture (the procedural step to limit debate and proceed toward a vote) on the Department of Defense Authorization Conference Report of which the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act is a part by a vote of 64 to 35. The Senate will now proceed with debate …

“In its never-ending quest to shred America’s Judeo-Christian value system, the left is planning to hurriedly push through a ‘thought crimes’ bill. So-called ‘hate crimes’ laws are really laws that criminalize thought, because they punish an individual not for what he did but for what he thought. Politically incorrect thoughts about homosexual behavior will result in enhanced criminal sanctions under …

Last night the House of Representatives voted down a GOP motion to strip the hate crimes act from the defense authorization bill to which it’s attached. The vote was 234-178, virtually exactly along party lines. Tomorrow the House will see a final conference vote on the bill, after which the Senate will see a conference vote before the bill lands …

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) vehemently opposes the Matthew Shepard Act and says attaching it to a defense appropriations act is “holding soldiers hostage.” He then go on to spout the usual lies that preachers will be dragged from the pulpits and charged with hate crimes for preaching against homosexuality.

Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays are opposing the Matthew Shepard Act, a honking contradiction since they wildly celebrated their recent inclusion in Washington DC’s list of sexual orientation protections. But no one ever accused the “ex-gays” of making sense. Washington City Paper’s Amanda Hess: Let’s try to pick that one apart, shall we? According to PFOX, hate crime laws protecting …

Last night the Senate approved their final version of defense appropriations bill to which the Matthew Shepard Act is attached. During the August recess, staffers from the House and Senate will meet in a conference committee to hammer out the differences between their two versions. In September we should see a vote by both chambers on the compromise bill. Fingers …

And he finds a sympathetic audience in the Fox hosts. Of course.

The U.S. Senate just voted to strip funding for the F-22 fighter jet from the defense appropriations bill to which the Matthew Shepard Act is attached, clearing the way for President Obama to sign it. The bill continues to be discussed and tomorrow the Senate will vote on whether to remove another unrelated amendment, one that permits gun owners to …

Well, this is interesting. The ACLU says that the Senate version of the hate crimes act does not protect free speech as vigorously as the House version and wants the Senate to adopt the other chamber’s bill. In its July 17 statement, the ACLU says the Senate hate crimes measure, set to be an amendment to the fiscal year 2010 …

Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) has submitted three amendments to the Matthew Shepard Act in an attempt to undo support. HRC Backstory reports: The first Sessions Amendment would allow the death penalty to be applied in hate crimes cases under some circumstances. This Amendment is unnecessary and is a poison pill designed to kill the bill. The Amendment is being offered …

LGBT history was made late last night when U.S. Senate passed the Matthew Shepard Act as an amendment to a defense appropriations bill. This is the most dramatic federal endorsement of LGBT rights in history and the first major achievement made during the Obama administration. The Senate has approved the most sweeping expansion of federal hate crimes protections since the …

Sen. John McCain spoke on the record today at the floor of the Senate to object to the Matthew Shepard Act being attached to a defense appropriations bill. “This is a complete abdication of the responsibilities of the judiciary committee but more importantly could hang up this bill for a long period. While we have young Americans fighting and dying …

Today U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder urged the Senate Judiciary Committee to move immediately on the hate crimes bill. The bill is reportedly going to be attached to a defense appropriations bill, a tactic which failed the last time it was attempted.

Check out the Obama’s Plan For Gay Rights site.

An “unnamed source” at the Washington Blade is saying the the U.S. Senate’s version of the hate crimes act may now be attached to a tourism bill. And says it should pass. By Wednesday. The U.S. Senate is expected to approve hate crimes legislation by Wednesday, according to a Democratic source. Lawmakers are expected to pass the measure by amending …

For the more than a month since the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act passed in the U.S. House, Ted Kennedy’s Senate version of the bill has laid moribund. But today the HRC is telling the Washington Blade that a move is afoot to attach the Senate bill as an amendment to another item, rendering it immune to revision …