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In case you haven't heard, congress has choosen to protect Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer people by now including them as part of the group of classes of people that are discriminated against in this country and around the world. LGBTQ victims of hate crimes, illegal acts against people motivated by an intolerance or prejudice, will now be ensured that their assailants will not go unpunished or treated tepidly. Since 1969, race, color, nationality, ethnicity, sex, and religion have been recognized as protected classes, and now because of the passage of The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, and disability will soon be included as protected classes of people. So what does the new law mean?
For more than a decade, senators have been fighting to extend protections for LGBTQ people and this Thursday their efforts along with the efforts of civil rights and gay rights activists paid off when the Senate passed the extension of hate crimes legislation. Because several states already enforce hate crimes protections upon LGBTQ people, the federal government will not change existing laws but will instead broaden the range of actions that can be considered biased against LGBTQ people such as preventing someone from voting or going to school because they are LGBTQ. The bill also includes available grants to help state and local governments fight the prevalence of hate crimes. Although the bill won’t prevent hate crimes, per se, the Matthew Shepard Act is a sign of great things to come during this era of rising progressivism in our nation. There is no doubt that the passage of this bill will pave the way towards future pro-LGBTQ legislation under the Obama administration.
Now that the bill has passed both the house and the senate, all we have to do now is wait for the president. We've been waiting for years for this bill and months for President Obama to fulfill his campaign promises to the LGBTQ community. We'll be watching what he does when he signs this bill and what he has in store for the future of civil rights.
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