Louvon Harris (sister of James Byrd Jr.), Judy Shepard (mother of Matthew Shepard), Betty Byrd Boatner (sister of James Byrd Jr.), and President Barack Obama / AP photo

WASHINGTON, D.C. – For this accomplishment, President Barack Obama sought maximum publicity.
There was a bill signing at a wooden desk set up in the East Room, with the media invited, followed by a reception for joyous, champagne-sipping supporters and an address to them, again, from the East Room.
Obama was keeping a campaign promise to gays and lesbians by putting his signature on a bill to include violence against homosexuals in federal hate crimes law.
Of several such commitments to gay and lesbian supporters, it’s the first one he’s kept. Other promises are either pending or stalled entirely, proving a source of continued dismay for gay and lesbian advocates who worked to help him get elected.
As a candidate, Obama promised to end the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that bars homosexuals from serving openly in the military. He pledged to work to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act, which limits how states, local and federal bodies can recognize partnerships and determine benefits. He also promised to outlaw job discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
Nine months into his term, those promises aren’t close to being met.
While clearly pleased by Wednesday’s signing ceremony, which was attended by many members of Congress who came to witness the fruits of a decade of effort, Rea Carey, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, said there is still a lot of work to be done.
“We look forward to the days ahead when we will join together again to celebrate full equality and recognition of our community, including in employment, the military and in the full recognition of our families,” Carey said.
The expanded law now also covers crimes motivated by gender identity or disability.
“No one in America should ever be afraid to walk down the street holding the hands of the person they love. No one in America should be forced to look over their shoulder because of who they are or because they live with a disability,” Obama said, referring to Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr., for whom the law is named.
Shepard was a gay Wyoming college student murdered in 1998; Byrd was a black man chained to a pickup truck by three white men and dragged to his death in east Texas that year.
Obama’s relationship with gay activists has been rocky since his election. They objected to the participation of evangelist Rev. Rick Warren in Obama’s inauguration because of Warren’s support for repealing gay marriage in California. Obama responded by having Episcopal Bishop V. Gene Robinson, the denomination’s first openly gay bishop, participate at another event.
As president, Obama hasn’t taken any concrete steps to urge Congress to overturn the Clinton-era “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. He restated the pledge this month in a speech at the annual dinner of the Human Rights Campaign, a gay civil rights advocacy group.
“I will end ‘don’t ask, don’t tell,’” Obama said, offering neither a timetable nor specifics on how it would be done. He noted that legislation is pending in the House, and that he is working with the Pentagon and Congress on ending the policy.
“We should not be punishing patriotic Americans who have stepped forward to serve this country,” he said. “We should be celebrating their willingness to show such courage and selflessness on behalf of their fellow citizens, especially when we’re fighting two wars.”
On job security for gays and lesbians, Obama said “we’re pushing hard” for it because “nobody in America should be fired because they’re gay.” He said “it’s not fair. It’s not right. We’re going to put a stop to it.”
Obama also pledged during the campaign to work for the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act. But administration lawyers did the opposite, defending the law in a court brief. White House aides said the lawyers were only doing their jobs by supporting an existing law.
Obama has expanded some federal benefits to same-sex partners, but not health benefits or pension guarantees. He has allowed State Department employees to include their same-sex partners in certain embassy programs available to opposite-sex spouses.
from The Associated Press

Hate Crime

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Senate cleared a historic hate crimes bill Thursday for President Obama’s signature, approving new federal penalties for attacks on gay men and lesbians.
The legislation, which was attached to the conference report for the bill outlining the Pentagon’s budget, marks the culmination of a years-long fight by civil rights groups to codify the expanded protections.
The measure would extend the current definition of federal hate crimes — which covers attacks motivated by race, color, religion or national origin — to include those based on sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability. It also would make it a federal crime to attack U.S. military personnel because of their service.
The measure was approved, 68 to 29, with a majority of Republicans voting against it. The House passed the same bill Oct. 8, also with most Republicans opposed.
Gay rights groups praised the Senate’s action.
“We look forward to President Obama signing it into law: our nation’s first major piece of civil rights legislation for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people,” said Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign. “Too many in our community have been devastated by hate violence. We now can begin the important steps to erasing hate in our country.”
Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.), who helped ensure that the hate crimes measure was added to the defense bill, said: “I am proud that Congress has come together to show that violence against members of any group because of who they are will not be tolerated in this country.”
The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act is named for Shepard, a gay University of Wyoming student who was murdered in 1998, and Byrd, a black man who was dragged to death behind a pickup truck in Texas in 1998. Shepard’s family founded the Matthew Shepard Foundation, which helped lobby for the measure. Offered repeatedly by the late senator  Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), the bill had stalled previously in the Senate, and President George W. Bush vowed to veto it if it reached his desk.
But Obama said he plans to sign the measure, a key moment for a president who has been subject to criticism from some gay and lesbian activists who say he has not pushed hard enough for their agenda. Obama has vowed to do so, and said he will repeal the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.
Social conservatives said the hate crimes bill would violate the First Amendment, and would be a step toward a larger gay rights agenda they oppose.
“Expanding hate crimes puts America in lock step with the stated agenda of homosexual activists who will turn next to the so-called Employment Non-Discrimination Act, followed by the repeal of the ban on homosexuality in the military and then the Defense of Marriage Act,” the Family Research Council warned on its Web site.
Religious groups have also complained that the measure could criminalize the act of criticizing or preaching against homosexuality, but the bill’s backers and the administration contend that is a misinterpretation of the legislation.
Separately, congressional Republicans objected to the process used to move the bill, saying that Democrats attached the hate crimes language to the defense authorization measure as a ploy to dare them to vote against it.
“It’s a shame that this piece of legislation was added to a bill that’s supposed to be about supporting our troops,” said  Sen. Lamar Alexander (Tenn.).
The Defense measure outlines a $680 billion budget for the Pentagon in fiscal 2010, including $130 billion for ongoing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
from The Washington Post

Matthew Shepard

December 1, 1976 – October 12, 1998

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Matthew Shepard

WASHINGTON – Legislation to punish hate crimes became a flashpoint on Capitol Hill on Thursday, as a measure expanding the definition of such crimes was attached to the bill outlining the Defense Department budget and approved by the House over the strong objections of Republicans.
House and Senate negotiators agreed earlier this week to attach the hate-crimes provision to the conference report for the $680 billion Defense Department authorization bill. The combined bill passed the House on Thursday, 281 to 146, with 131 Republicans and 15 Democrats in opposition. The measure must pass the Senate, in a vote that could come as early as next week, before it can head to President Obama’s desk for his signature.
Congressional Republicans complained that appending the hate crimes provision to a bill laying out the Pentagon’s budget for the coming year was an abuse of the legislative process and made U.S. troops “political pawns” in an unrelated social debate.
The provision would broaden the current definition of federal hate crimes to include attacks based on gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability. It would also create a new federal crime to cover attacks against U.S. military personnel because of their service.
“This is radical social policy that … is being put on the defense authorization bill, on the backs of our soldiers, because they probably can’t pass it on its own,” said House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio).
The House passed the hate-crimes measure as a stand-alone bill in April, with 18 Republicans joining 231 Democrats in support. But it stalled in the Senate. At the strong urging of Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and fellow supporters from the House, the measure was attached to the Defense legislation — considered a must-pass bill.
Pelosi said Thursday that this week’s timing of the hate-crimes vote was appropriate.
“Monday is the 11th anniversary of the murder of Matthew Shepard, and we want in the same week of that tragic event to call the public’s attention once again to people acting upon their hatred in a violent way,” Pelosi said, referring to the infamous 1998 murder of a gay University of Wyoming student.
Civil-rights groups welcomed Thursday’s House action.
“We’re very pleased by this and look forward to it landing on the president’s desk,” said Rea Carey, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.
from The Washington Post