The House of Representatives voted to include sexual orientation under the scope of the hate crimes bill. The law was enacted in 1968 after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. The changes bring about major changes to the law. Supporters of the bill have been unable in the past decade to pass similar changes to the law due to lack of support. This time, the bill was attached to a multi-billion dollar defense policy bill that needed to be passed.
House Republicans are not happy. At all. "The inclusion of 'thought crimes' legislation in what is otherwise a bipartisan bill for troop funding is an absolute disgrace," said Rep. Tom Price of Georgia. "This is radical social policy that is being put on the defense authorization bill, on the backs of our soldiers, because they probably can't pass it on its own," said John Boehner. To me, the ends justify the means, but if someone snuck pro-automatic weapon legislation past me on the back of health care, I'd be pissed.
But I don't know that attaching this bill to defense policy doesn't have everything to do with making a statement about the people who serve in the armed forces. Thirty-four percent of soldiers dismissed under "Don't Ask Don't Tell" have been women, while they make up only 14 percent of the armed forces. The rule has also dismissed a handful of soldiers who are fluent in Arabic. Attaching the change to the hate crimes law to defense legislation was not underhanded, it was clear.
On a related note, The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later will be showing at the Academy of Music. The film was based on the murder of Matthew Shepard, a young gay man who was tied to a fence and beaten, a victim of "thought crimes."
