Leahy to introduce Matthew Shepard Act

Senator Patrick Leahy will add hate crimes legislation as an amendment to the DOD reauthorization bill.

Christian conservatives fight expansion of hate-crimes law

WASHINGTON — Conservative Christian leaders are fighting a bill that would provide federal hate-crimes coverage to gays and lesbians, prompting questions of who, if anyone, should be protected by such laws.

With a Democrat-controlled Congress and a president who has indicated his support for the Matthew Shepard Act, time may be running out for its opponents. To stop the legislation, a few Christian leaders have suggested repealing all hate-crimes law, which would undo historic protections for race and even religion.

FAITH & REASON: How does sect handle disparate views within the ‘family’?

“The entire notion of hate-crimes legislation is extraneous and obsolete,” said Matt Barber, director of cultural affairs with the conservative nonprofit Liberty Counsel, adding that he believes hate-crimes laws are unconstitutional.

In addition, a number of Christian conservatives have raised fears that pastors would be prosecuted for inciting hate crimes if they had preached against homosexuality, despite assurances that the law only targets physical violence.

See Christian conservatives fight expansion of hate-crimes law

USA Today

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Obama pushes for hate crimes legislation

The White House released a statement urging the House to move forward on the Matthew Shepard Act.

Pat Boone says: “Prop. 8 protesters the same as terrorists”

“…there is a real, unbroken line between the jihadist savagery in Mumbai and the hedonistic, irresponsible, blindly selfish goals and tactics of our homegrown sexual jihadists.”
– Pat Boone, December 6, 2008

Country singer and right-wing pundit Pat Boone has written a column equating the movement against Prop. 8 to the terrorists who tortured and murdered hundreds in Mumbai.

I am not kidding. This is a new low in anti-gay rhetoric.
Boone and his buddies continue to stir up fear, even if they have to lie. It’s exactly how they passed the California marriage ban.
We need your help to stop the radical right from painting a movement about love and dignity as violent and radical. We need your support to stay strong, smart, and nimble, to combat these growing attacks with the simple truth: all we want is equality

Make a donation to HRC on behalf of Pat Boone. Your gift helps HRC combat these lies – and sends the message that our call for equality cannot be silenced.
We’ll even send Mr. Boone a note with your first name and gift amount to let him know you’ve donated in his name.
It’s time to say enough to the deception and false ads that defeated marriage equality in three states and banned gay couples from adopting in Arkansas; enough to the attempts to equate peaceful protest with “jihadist savagery”; enough to the lies used to block federal hate crimes laws and workplace protections.
In the face of lies like this, there’s only one thing to do: Demand the Truth – and that’s exactly what we will be doing in the coming year. HRC will:
Respond quickly and forcefully to the lies and intimidation with media outreach and grassroots mobilization, as part of an ongoing “Demand the Truth” campaign;
Organize hundreds of thousands of activists to pass the Matthew Shepard Act and combat the inevitable misleading campaign that will be waged against us;
Work with religious leaders to encourage LGBT people to come out in their faith communities and create venues for the voices of tolerance and love;
Continue the march for marriage equality and relationship recognition, especially in key states where new doors are opening right now, including New York, Vermont, New Mexico, New Jersey, and Iowa; and
Work with the Obama administration to undo years of White House anti-LGBT hostility.
To really go toe to toe with the mouthpieces of bigotry like Pat Boone, we’re going to need your support.
If, every time they tell another lie, run another deceptive ad or use more fear-mongering to try and win votes and recruit new members, we respond by strengthening our movement for equality, eventually they’ll realize they’re hurting themselves more than they’re hurting us.
But it only works if we all stand up.
Join us in demanding the truth, by making a gift in Pat Boone’s name today!
What’s perhaps most disturbing about Boone’s rhetoric – painting LGBT people as a threat to society – is that it leads to the very real hate violence directed against LGBT people every day.
We can’t stop the Pat Boones of our world from speaking their ugly lies, but together we can make sure that there’s a political cost associated with this kind of hateful speech.

Joe Solmonese
HRC President

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Hate crimes, ENDA top priorities for national gay groups

Officials with the Human Rights Campaign and National Gay & Lesbian Task Force are hopeful that Barack Obama’s administration and Democratic leaders in Congress will help orchestrate the passage next year of two gay rights bills that enjoy widespread support.

The Matthew Shepard Act, which would authorize federal authorities to prosecute anti-gay hate crimes, and the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would ban job discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, are considered high priorities among gay-supportive lawmakers, officials with the two groups said. See Hate crimes, ENDA top priorities for national gay groups
Sovo.com, GA