On Dec 8, 8:46 am, "Patriot Games" <Patr...@America.com> wrote:

http://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/gays_hate_crime_bill/2007/12/07/5538...

Senate Drops Gays from Hate Crimes Bill

Friday, December 7, 2007

WASHINGTON - Congress has dropped legislation that would have expanded laws
against hate crimes to include attacks on gays after it became clear the
measure wouldn't pass the House, aides said Thursday.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., was widely supported by
Democrats and some moderate Senate Republicans. But because it was attached
to a major defense policy bill that would have authorized more money for the
Iraq war, many anti-war Democrats said they would oppose it.

''We don't have the votes,'' said one House Democratic aide, who spoke on
condition of anonymity because conference negotiations on the defense bill
were ongoing. ''We're about 40 votes short, not four or six.''

The development is a blow to civil rights groups which say that broadening
federal laws are necessary to address a rise in crimes motivated by hate and
based upon a person's sexual orientation or gender identity.

The military bill was ''the last clear chance this year for Congress to make
a meaningful effort to stop hatecrime violence,'' said Wade Henderson,
president of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights.

In a joint statement issued Thursday, Kennedy and Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich.,
said they were disappointed the House refused to attempt a vote on the
legislative package, even if it would have failed. Levin, chairman of the
Armed Services Committee, oversees the defense bill.

''At a time when our ideals are under attack by terrorists in other lands,
it is more important than ever to demonstrate that we practice what we
preach, and that we are doing all we can to root out the bigotry and
prejudice in our own country that leads to similar violence here at home,''
the senators said.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said she was ''strongly committed'' to
the bill and will continue to work to send it to President Bush. But, she
added, ''it is clear that attaching the language to the (Defense Department)
authorization bill would not create a successful outcome in the House.''

Under current federal law, hatecrimes include acts of violence against
individuals on the basis of race, religion, color or national origin.
Federal prosecutors have jurisdiction only if the victim is engaged in a
specific federally protected activity such as voting.

Kennedy's bill would have extended the category to include sexual
orientation, gender, gender identity or disability. It also would give
federal authorities greater leeway to participate in hatecrime
investigations, and allow them to step in if local authorities were
unwilling or unable to act.

The measure would have provided $10 million over the next two years to help
local law enforcement officials cover the cost of hatecrime prosecutions.

The bill is named for Matthew Shepard, a gay college freshman who died after
he was beaten into a coma in 1998 in Laramie, Wyo.

The Senate voted 60-39 in September to attach the bill as amendment to the
2008 defense authorization bill. Nine Republicans broke ranks and sided with
Democrats in support of the measure.

The House did not include similar provisions in its version of the defense
bill, which it passed in May by a 397-27 vote.

While Democratic leaders said they supported the bill, the bundled package
posed too high a hurdle. A substantial number of liberal House members
routinely vote against the annual defense bill because of the billions it
authorizes in combat operations and for programs such as missile defense.

At the same time, some conservative Democrats and Republicans said they
would oppose the legislation if the hate crimes provisions were attached -
either because they don't think hate crime laws should be changed or because
they don't think the issue should be tied to a bill for the troops.

In a private meeting on Wednesday, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md.,
and House Democratic Whip James Clyburn, D-S.C., told Levin that if the
Senate continued to insist on the hate crimes provisions, the defense
legislation would fail.

Levin and other Senate Democratic leaders agreed to back down to allow the
defense bill to move forward.

The White House called the Senate bill unnecessary, but stopped short of
issuing a veto threat.

''State and local law enforcement agencies are effectively using their laws
to the full extent they can,'' said White House spokeswoman Dana Perino in
September.

House and Senate negotiators finalized the defense bill in a closed-door
meeting on Thursday. The agreement puts the measure on track to be sent to
the president's desk before lawmakers leave this month for their holiday
break.

Republicans: the Party of Fag Values

If you really want to know what's going on in the minds of
Republicans, and right wing nuts in general, check out the
rec.martial-
arts group, on Google. I got cross-posted there on a thread about
Hugo Chavez. I was rather shocked to find myself being threatened
with physical assault, then having my private parts openly discussed.
And then, well, they all started telling me how much they liked me!
How they wanted me to stick around, get to know them better! If you
don't believe me here's the thread:

http://groups.google.com/group/alt.politics/browse_thread/thread/d6ed...

Apparently, this is a homosexual pick-up site for right-wing gun nuts
and martial arts freaks. They like to beat people up, and are always
looking for fresh recruits. Apparently, they follow the ancient
Greek
model: women for children, boys for pleasure. And not just boys!
Check it out for yourselves, if you dare! See if they don't try to
proposition you, if you stick around a while. They can't help
themselves. But, if you complain about it, they'll call you a
LIAR!!!

These right-wing fags are disinformation specialists. We know that
from neocons like Karl Rove, Richard Cheney and George Bush. Watch
them!- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -