Leahy Lauds Passage Of Federal Anti-Hate Crimes Legislation

Travis Martinez - University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service

A decade of work done by the Senate culminated in the passing of Federal hate crimes legislation on Thursday. The legislation now heads to President Barack Obama’s desk where it will await his signature.

The fight, which began almost 11 years ago, was a long-time priority of the late Senator Edward Kennendy (D-Mass.), who worked closely with Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) to finally advance the bipartisan Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act.

Said Leahy, "This historic hate crimes provision will improve existing law by making it easier for Federal authorities to investigate and prosecute crimes of racial, ethnic, or religious violence.”

Senator Carl Levin (D-Mich.), Chairman of the Senate Armed Forces Committee, defended his reasoning for including the provision within the Defense bill.

“This is domestic terrorism... When you attack someone because of membership in a group, you are attacking this country itself. This belongs in the Defense Reauthorization Bill!” he exclaimed.

Both Senators also responded to recent actions by Senate Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to include a public option in the Senate’s health care bill. The Senators argued that a public option was very important in that it would represent progress in the legislation, but noted that any such provision must include an op-out for states, which they said would promote competition.