From Kathy Belge,
Your Guide to Lesbian Life.
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What does a hate crimes bill do and how does it help the GLBT community?

Congress introduced a bill (H.R. 1592) that gives the government power to investigate and prosecute crimes of bias because of sexual orientation and gender identity.

The hate crimes bill passed the U.S. House of Representatives in May 2007. Then in September, the Matthew Shepard Act was passed by the Senate as an amendment to a Department of Defense Authorization bill. The two bills must now be reconciled by a committee. Once the final bill is approved by both houses, it will go to President Bush who has threatened to veto it.

A. I spoke with Sarah Scanlon, Regional Field Director for the Human Rights Campaign about Matthew Shepard hate crimes bill before congress. A hate crimes bill has nothing to do with sentencing crimes, but has to do with funding.

The hate crimes bill which is also known as the Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act or the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act will make federal funds from the Justice Department available to local law enforcement organizations to aid in investigating crimes against gays, lesbians and trans people. The language of the bill gives the Justice Department power to investigate a crime if the perpetrator is motivated by a person's actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability.

Are Hate Crimes Really a Problem?

Yes. From HRC's website: "According to 2006 FBI statistics, hate crimes based on sexual orientation constituted the third highest category reported and made up 15.5 percent of all reported hate crimes. Only race-based and religion-based prejudice crimes were more prevalent than hate crimes based on sexual orientation."

What the Hate Crimes Bill Is:

• Current federal hate crime law, passed by Congress is 1968, allows federal investigation and prosecution of hate crimes based on race, religion, and national origin. The current bill will add sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or disability to the law.
• Makes money and resources available for local communities when a hate crime has been committed.
• Allows federal authorities to assist in investigations if needed.

What the Hate Crimes Bill is Not:

• It is not about increasing jail time or sentencing for perpetrators.
• Does not give funding to prevent hate crimes.

Matthew Shepard and Hate Crimes Bill

Ms. Scanlon said that when Matthew Shepard was murdered in Wyoming, because that crime took so much time and money to investigate and prosecute, four local officers were furloughed. If this bill passes, hopefully a situation like that will never happen again.

Want to get involved? Visti the Human Rights Campaign Action Center.