As Congress approved legislation to expand the legal application of hate crimes, cosponsor Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Wash., proclaimed on Wednesday that “We have
declared America to be a hate-free zone.”

It may not be that easy.

During debate on the legislation, a Republican congresswoman from North Carolina questioned the decade-old Laramie, Wyoming murder that galvanized a national drive to impose penalties on hate-driven crimes.

Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., used the word “hoax” to describe the killing of Matthew Shepard, a young gay man who was tied crucifixion-style to a fence, repeatedly pistol whipped and left for dead. He later died in a local hospital.

“. . . We know that young man was killed in the commitment of a robbery,” Foxx told the House. “It wasn’t because he was gay This — the bill was named for him, (the) hate crime bill was named for him, but it’s really a hoax that continues to be used as an excuse for passing these bills.”

The “hoax” argument is directly contradicted by court testimony by girlfriends of the two men who murdered Shepard. Both girlfriends testified that the killers set out to find and rob a gay man. They befriended Shepard in a bar. The slight Shepard asked them to give him a ride home.

Foxx was not alone in her heavy prose. “Pedophiles and other bizarre sex orientations given protection by Congress,” headlined a release by the Traditional Values Coalition.

The legislation extends to women, gays and the disabled provisions of America’s existing hate crimes law. The law already singles out for special punishment violent crime based on race, religion and/or national origin of the victim.

Asked about Rep. Foxx’s “hoax” allegation, McDermott replied with a Latin maxim: “Res ipsa loquiter.” Translated, it means: The matter speaks for itself.