House Votes to Expand Hate Crimes Definition

[Shana A]

House Votes to Expand Hate Crimes Definition

By CARL HULSE
Published: October 8, 2009

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/09/us/politics/09hate.html?_r=1 🔗

WASHINGTON — The House voted Thursday to expand the definition of violent federal hate crimes to those committed because of a victim's sexual orientation, a step that would extend new protection to lesbian, gay and transgender people.

The measure was named in part for Matthew Shepard, a gay Wyoming college student murdered in 1998.

Democrats hailed the vote of 281 to 146, which brought the measure to the brink of becoming law, as the culmination of a long push to curb violent expressions of bias like the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, a gay Wyoming college student.

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