Just before 3 p.m. today, President Barack Obama signed into law the 2010 National Defense Authorization Act that includes the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act as an amendment. The bill will expand the 1969 federal hate crime law to include crimes motivated by perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability. The bill passed the Senate last Thursday with a 68-29 vote in favor of the bill; both Kentucky Senators Bunning and McConnell voted against the measure. It passed the House on October 8 with the support of Congressman John Yarmuth, Ben Chandler, and Republican Brett Guthrie.
"This is a historic moment for lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender Americans," said Chris Hartman, director of
the Fairness Campaign. "For the first time ever, federally mandated civil rights for the LGBT community are a reality. The Fairness Campaign applauds President Obama
for his leadership and advocacy of this vital hate crimes measure,
which we expect is just the first step towards full and equal civil
rights for all Americans."
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About the Fairness Campaign
Founded in 1991, the Fairness Campaign is a broad-based community effort dedicated to equal rights. Its primary goal is comprehensive civil rights legislation prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, which it works to accomplish through public education and advocacy, political activity, community building and reciprocal alliances with others in the social justice community. Since its inception, the Fairness Campaign has believed in the inherent intersections of all forms of oppression, and that dismantling racism is central to the organization's work. In 1999, through the work of the Fairness Campaign and its allies, Louisville became one of the first cities in the South to pass a Fairness Ordinance, protecting individuals from discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. Today, the Fairness Campaign works within a geographically diverse Statewide Fairness Coalition to pass a similar law that will protect all Kentuckians from discrimination.
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