Bob Knight, director of the Culture and Family Institute at Concerned Women for America, reports:
The GOP-controlled U.S. House just passed a federal Hate Crimes bill with “sexual orientation,” sponsored by left-wing Democrat Rep. John Conyers. We had no notice that this was happening.
The House leadership needs to, uh, hear from the pro-family movement about this betrayal. The only positive thing I can say is that this was a recorded vote.
Follow these links to the voting breakdown (223-199) on Conyers’ amendment and the overall Children's Safety Act.
The House Values Action Team says Conyers’ amendment would “create a Federal offense for violence motivated by the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, or disability of the victim.”
Shortly after the vote, PlanetOut Network was reporting on its passage, and, of course, hailing the victory.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a hate crimes act in a bipartisan vote on Wednesday. The measure gives law enforcement officers the tools to prosecute hate crimes against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.
The nation's largest LGBT political group, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), called the 223-199 vote a "historic step."
"Hate crimes send a message of fear, and Congress answered with a powerful law enforcement tool," said HRC President Joe Solmonese. "Members of the House, Democrats and Republicans alike, historically signaled today that local law enforcement officials deserve the tools this bill would provide toward fighting the scourge of hate crimes."
"Today the United States House has courageously stood up for basic fairness for LGBT Americans," Chris Barron, Log Cabin Republicans political director, said on Wednesday. "This is a tremendous day for our entire LGBT community."
