Obama signs bill expanding hate crimes to sexual orientation
| Washington
The gay community applauded President Obama鈥檚 signing Wednesday of a hate-crime law that covers crimes against people based on their gender identity and sexual orientation, real or perceived.
The law, known as the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, gives the Justice Department the ability to investigate and prosecute such crimes. It expands on a 1969 federal hate-crimes law that covered crimes motivated by race, color, religion, national origin, and disability.
鈥淐ertainly, this is a really important first step,鈥� says Kevin Cathcart, executive director of Lambda Legal gay rights organization. 鈥淚t is something that we have needed and wanted for many years. It鈥檚 a day that deserves celebration.鈥�
But he and other gay-rights activists say that much remains on the agenda for federal action:
鈥assage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). This legislation would bar employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Some states have such a law on the books, but many do not.
鈥epeal of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA): This 1996 law defines marriage as between one man and one woman, and allows states not to recognize a same-sex marriage performed elsewhere.
鈥epeal of 鈥渄on鈥檛 ask, don鈥檛 tell鈥� (DADT): This 1993 policy bars gays from serving openly in the military.
The gay community has expressed disappointment with Mr. Obama for not following through as speedily as they hoped with action on these issues. In a speech earlier this month to Human Rights Campaign, the nation鈥檚 largest gay-rights organization, Obama promised to lift DADT, but gave no time frame.
Activists have also been disappointed that Obama has not spoken out on behalf of gay rights in Maine and Washington State, as voters head to the polls Nov. 3. In Maine, a referendum seeks to overturn a law allowing gay marriage. In Washington, a referendum would reverse a new domestic partnership law.
The new hate-crimes law is named for two victims of hate crimes. Matthew Shepard was a college student in Wyoming when he was tortured and killed in 1998. Witnesses say he was targeted for being gay. James Byrd Jr. of Texas, an African American, died while being dragged behind a truck. At the time, there were no state laws on the books regarding hate crimes in Texas.
Some legal scholars argue that the new measure represents an unconstitutional overreach of federal power.
Tim Lynch, director of the Project on Criminal Justice at the libertarian Cato Institute, notes that in 2000, the Supreme Court struck down parts of the Violence Against Women Act as an overstep of congressional authority under the Commerce Clause.
鈥淭he new hate-crime law will be invalidated for similar reasons,鈥� Mr. Lynch writes in a statement. 鈥淚n the meantime, the law will not prevent any violent crime from happening.鈥�
He adds that hate-crime laws 鈥渢ake the government too close to the notion of 鈥榯hought crimes,鈥� because investigators will now have to dig into peoples鈥� lives in order to gather 鈥榚vidence鈥� to prove the bias element in a court of law.鈥�
Gay-rights activists reject the thought-crime argument.
鈥淢otive has been a part of prosecution of crimes for a very long time,鈥� says Rick Rosendall, vice president for political affairs of the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance in Washington. 鈥淭here鈥檚 not hate crime absent a crime.鈥�
Besides, he adds, 鈥渙pponents would have more credibility if they had objected to hate-crimes laws in the first place.鈥�
Obama signed the new hate-crimes law in conjunction with the 2010 Defense Authorization Act. Later in the day, the president will host a reception in the East Room of the White House and deliver remarks commemorating the enactment of the hate-crimes law.
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