Hate Crime Bill Passes in House 249-175!
Despite the hideous lies and fearmongering of the RRRW, including outrageous claims that Matthew Shepard’s death was “a hoax”, the House of Representatives passed HR 1913 by a wide margin!
The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, also known as the Mathew Shepard Hate Crimes Act, passed the U.S. House of Representatives with a 249 to 175 vote. A total of 231 Democrats voted in favor of the legislation with 17 voting against, while 18 Republicans voted for the legislation with 158 voting against, according to Stonewall Democrats.
…..
This description comes from HRC:During debate on hate crimes legislation taking place today on the floor of the United States House of Representatives, Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) claimed that Matthew Shepard’s death was “a hoax.” While Matthew’s mother, Judy Shepard looked on from the House gallery, Foxx, who managed the floor for those opposed to the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, spoke saying, “the hate crimes bill that’s called the Matthew Shepard Bill is named after a very unfortunate incident that happened where a young man was killed, but we know that that young man was killed in the commitment of a robbery. It wasn’t because he was gay. This – the bill was named for him, hate crimes bill was named for him, but it’s really a hoax that that continues to be used as an excuse for passing these bills.”
You have to love those Republicans and their “family values”. Nothing screams “morality” like supporting violent crimes against people just because you think they’re icky. Watch some of their antics yourself, courtesy of Think Progress.
The bill now goes to the Senate where it is anticipated voting will be close. Hopefully, though, the Senate will do the right thing, as the House did.
Related posts:
The Hate Crimes Bill, Critical and Long Overdue.
Hate Crimes Bill Gets OK By House Judiciary Committee. RRRW Goes Berserk.
