Federal Hate Crimes Bill Passes Senate in Historic Vote, On it's Way to President's Desk

The fight for full equality for LGBT people in America took center stage today as the U.S. Senate voted 68-29 to approve groundbreaking legislation that will expand the scope of federal hate-crimes law.

The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, making it a federal crime to assault an individual because of his or her actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity, now goes to the desk of President Obama.

The bill is named for Matthew Shepard, a gay Wyoming teenager who died after being kidnapped, severely beaten, and left to die tied to a fence in October 1998, and James Byrd, Jr., an African-American who in June of 1998 was beaten, chained to the back of a pick-up truck, and dragged for miles over rural roads in Jasper, Texas.

On the eve of the Equality March, President Obama vowed that, “despite the progress we’ve made, there are still laws to change and hearts to open. This fight continues now, and I’m here with the simple message: I’m here with you in that fight.”