The Ryan Thomas Collection

The Matthew Shepard Act is scheduled to hit the floor of Congress for a vote in the upcoming month. This vital piece of legislation, if passed and signed by President Obama, would finally include sexual orientation and gender identity under federal hate crime legislation. Currently, inclusion of sexual orientation within hate crime laws is a state by state fixture. The Matthew Shepard Act would bring this to a federal level. President Bush vetoed the first attempt by Congress to pass the bill, but President Obama has promised to sign it into law should it hit his desk.

The Matthew Shepard Act is named after Matthew Shepard, a young gay man whose life was taken in Laramie, Wyoming over ten years ago because he was gay. The two men convicted of the vicious torturing and murder of Shepard could not be prosecuted under federal hate crime laws that, as it stands, only coves crimes committed based on someones religion, race, creed or ethnicity. Crimes prosecuted under hate crime laws carry heavier sentencing and increased resources for investigation. The importance of passing this act goes beyond the actual punishment it would carry for those criminals convicted for acts of violence against a gay individual based on their sexual orientation.

Local resources for prosecuting crime are often limited with prioritization and crimes prosecuted varying state to state, district to district. If a hate crime based on religion takes place in a local district, local authorities can tap into federal investigative resources in bringing about justice. If a hate crime based on sexual orientation is committed without a state hate crime laws including sexual orientation, local authorities can decide not to investigate thoroughly or may not have resources to do so. Victims then are unable to go to the federal level for justice.  Gay individuals who have fallen victim to hate crimes based on their sexual orientation deserve equal justice under the law. It again comes down to equal treatment under the law.

Those who oppose the inclusion of sexual orientation in federal hate crime laws have viciously lied to the public and Congressional members, telling them that such laws would remove people’s religious freedoms and speech because their anti-gay stance would fall under prosecution of hate crime laws. The American Family Association went so far as to broadcast an hour long program on TV attempting to persuade viewers that people of faith would be silenced and pastors would be jailed. These are ridiculous lies that need to be combated. These blatant lies take pure advantage of people’s lack of knowledge in First Amendment law, as well as the details behind hate crime legislation and the Mathew Shepard Act. Hateful speech, both symbolic and spoken, has consistently been protected by the Supreme Court under the First Amendment. There are limitations, such as if that speech is meant to incite immediate physical violence. However, the protections provided to speech are broad, strong and well protected in this country.

The KKK has been freely allowed to speak hatefully against African Americans without being subject to federal hate crime legislation. Individuals whose racist commentary against Muslims following 9/11 were not prosecuted under hate crime legislation. Individuals whose speak against gays will not be prosecuted under the Mathew Shepard Act. Acts of physical violence against a gay person where the evidence shows that the crime was committed solely based on the individual’s orientation fall under this act. The American Family Association has once again shown a pure lack of knowledge in our Constitution, and our laws. The fear based tactics used to fight same sex marriage are being utilized here. The outlook appears to be dim for them, as the Mathew Shepard Act gains more support in Congress.

This is long overdue for the United States. 15% of hate crimes in the nation are reported to be against the LGBT community, and yet, 15% of hate crimes in the nation are refused equal justice under current federal hate crime laws. It is time for equal protection under the law for all citizens of the United States.

Here are some avenues in which you can show your support for equality under hate crime laws:

* Visit http://www.hrc.org/endthelies/ and see who is spreading ridiculous lies about this topic and others affecting the LGBT community.

* Send a letter to your Congressperson through HRC’s Action Center: http://www.hrcactioncenter.org/campaign/hate_crimes

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