"Today, I proudly stood with colleagues from both parties to cast a vote for the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Act.  While the perpetrators of every act of violence should be brought to justice, crimes committed through the poison of hate are so detrimental to society as a whole that they merit special prosecution.  As I cast my vote this afternoon, I thought of Matthew Shepard and many more just like him who feel abandoned and alone while being brutalized by cowards.  We cannot bring Matthew back, nor reverse the obscenity visited on these victims, but we can join together as a nation and make it stop."

BACKGROUND: The House of Representatives voted to expand the definition of hate crimes and provide law enforcement officers with the tools they need to prosecute these crimes through the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act.

Under current law, the federal government can only investigate hate crimes motivated by race, color, religion or national origin. The Hate Crimes Prevention Act extends federal jurisdiction to crimes motivated by the victim’s real or perceived sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or disability.

This legislation was inspired in part by the brutal 1998 murder of a gay teenager named Matthew Shepard near Laramie, Wyoming.