Hate-crime law will probably cover sexual orientation soon

[forum_admin]

In Washington, the House has approved language that would add sexual orientation to the U.S. hate-crime law, and it's expected to pass in the Senate, too. (It's part of a defense bill that must pass.) Democrats have spent something like 11 years trying to get this passed. The Republicans have always been concerned because they're worried that pastors, for example, could get in trouble for preaching against homosexuality. The AP says that some protections have been built in, but the GOP says they're still worried that a minister could get blamed if an act of violence was later tied back to something the minister said.

The decision is significantly expanding the hate crimes law enacted in the days after Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination in 1968.

Civil rights groups and their Democratic allies have been trying for more than a decade to broaden the reach of the hate crimes law. This time they succeeded. The measure is attached to a must-pass $680 billion defense policy bill and President Barack Obama - unlike President George W. Bush - is a strong supporter. The House passed the defense bill 281-146, with 15 Democrats and 131 Republicans in opposition.