Fair Wisconsin Applauds the Passage of the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act September 27, 2007 Fairness moves forward. Today, the U.S. Senate passed the Matthew Shepard Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act by a vote of 60 - 39. Earlier this year, on May 3rd, the House of Representatives passed a companion bill, with a strong bipartisan margin of 237 to 180. We asked you in May to take action and
tell your legislators that preventing hate crimes against LGBT persons was important. You did. Thanks to your efforts and the efforts of thousands more like you around the country, this bill will go to the President's desk. Fair Wisconsin strongly encourages President Bush to sign this bill into law. The leadership of Wisconsin's own Congresswoman, Tammy Baldwin, was critical to the success of this bill. Both Senator Russ Feingold and Senator Herb Kohl voted in favor of this bill. U.S. Representatives Tammy Baldwin, Steve Kagen, Ron Kind, Gwen Moore, and David Obey also voted in favor of this bill in May.
This legislation offers federal protection for victims of hate crimes targeted because of their race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or disability. This Act is the first piece of federal legislation to protect against hate crimes committed against a person based on their gender identity. |
