Brody's Notes... The White House Announces that The President Will Sign Shepard-Byrd Act Into Law

Photo By Brody Levesque

By Brody Levesque (Washington DC) Oct 27| The White House announced that President Barack Obama will sign the 2010 Defence Authorisation Bill in a ceremony at the White House tomorrow afternoon. After the signing ceremony for the $680 billion defence spending plan, the President will host a second event on a new law attached to that bill: The Matthew Shepard & James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. 

The act makes it a federal crime to assault someone because of their sexual orientation, disability or gender identity. It is named for the victims of two horrific crimes in 1998: Matthew Shepard, a gay teenager from Wyoming who was beaten to death; and James Byrd, a black man chained behind a pick-up truck in Texas and dragged to his death. The provision allows for actual or perceived "sexual orientation" and gender identity to be included under the umbrella of "hate crimes." If an offender is determined to have targeted their victim because of characteristics such as race, religion, sexual orientation, or disability that crime is put into the category of "hate crimes" and it could result in stiffer punishments, including longer jail sentences.

Current laws allow for most "hate crimes" to be prosecuted at the state level, unless the crime was committed during a "federally protected activity" such as attending school. This amendment would eliminate requiring a crime to be committed on federal property for it to be labeled a federal hate crime, thus broadening the federal government's ability to prosecute.
The President will deliver brief remarks at 6:05 PM, and will be joined by Attorney General Eric Holder, members of the Shepard & Byrd families, civil rights community leaders and others.