Plea to Congress and President Obama to Pass the Matthew Shepard Act

The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act (LLEHCPA), also known as the Matthew Shepard Act, gives the Justice Department the power to prosecute bias-motivated crimes when states are unwilling or unable to do so. This legislation covers crimes of violence where the victim has been chosen due to actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability.

Hate crimes occur in the United States at the rate of more than one an hour, and they are currently on the increase. Hate crimes are not just crimes against an individual. They are meant to terrorize an entire group of people.

Federal legislation addressing such criminal civil rights violations is necessary because state and local law enforcement officers often do not have the resources to deal with these situations or may have a personal bias against the victim.

Existing federal law does not provide any separate offense for violent acts based on race, color, national origin, or religion, except under very specific circumstances. In addition, existing federal law does not provide any separate offense whatsoever for violent acts based on sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or disability.

The Matthew Shepard Act was passed by the House in 2007. To get through the Senate, it was presented as an amendment to a Department of Defense Authorization bill. President Bush said he would veto it because such protections were not necessary. It was not, however, included in the final version of the Defense bill due to House Republicans who were in opposition to the legislation and Democrats who did not want to test President Bush's threat to veto it and thus risk a delay in increased pay for military personnel.

The Matthew Shepard Act has been endorsed by over 280 law enforcement, civil rights, civic and religious organizations. It has broad bi-partisan support among the American electorate. We urge Congress and President Obama to enact this legislation as quickly as possible.