Senate Passes Hate Crimes Bill; Larry Craig Opposes

Moments ago, the Senate voted 60-39 to end debate on the Matthew Shepard Act, which expands federal hate crimes laws to include violence based on a victim's sexual orientation, gender, disability, and other factors. The AP reports:

The Senate attached hate crimes legislation to a must-pass Pentagon spending bill Thursday, but opponents predicted it ultimately would fail.

"The president is not going to agree to this social legislation on the defense authorization bill," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. "This bill will get vetoed." [...]

The Democratic-controlled House passed the same hate crimes legislation as a stand-alone bill earlier this year despite Bush's veto threat. That makes a repeat of 2004, when the Senate passed a similar amendment to the same bill only to see it stripped out during negotiations with the Republican-led House, less likely this time around. President Bush, who says the bill is not needed, could then be faced with vetoing the vast defense authorization bill containing the same provision.

The White House had no immediate comment Thursday.

Notably, Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID) voted against the legislation.

UPDATE: See the full roll call here.

Comments

[MiddletownHal]

Isn't it interesting to watch how these fools in Congress vote against or for their "best interests" Clearly Sen Craig is here voting against his best interests.

He should just admit he's queer!

[jdcccc]

Only in moonbat America could we think violent crime against another human requires categories based on race, gender or sexual orientation.

How many violent crimes don’t contain some element of hate.

This is nothing but political pandering to the 2 Americas some idiot is always talking about doing away with.

[ZenCrusader]

jdccc .... study the issue ... facts are facts ... clearly you care NOT about your fellow Americans who desparately need this bill to protect their lives. If you were being beaten or killed because of your sexuality, I guarantee you would have a different perspective on this and a different opinion.

[jdcccc]

A person that beats or kills someone should be prosecuted to full extent of the law regardless of class.

Premeditated murder of an innocent victim is premeditated murder. Who are we to place a higher value on the senseless death of a gay person versus a heterosexual person. Is there a greater loss to the family of a gay person than the family of a heterosexual person.

If we apply value judgments to murder based on class, where does it end. Are people that murder elderly people less guilty than those that kill young people because the victim had less time to live.

This is all about politics to the detriment of the legal system.

[NotMyPrez]

I think this has more to do with tacked-on legislation, and language of the bill than anything else. Who else voted no, I wonder-and would HuffPo be so vocal if Craig did not become famous for his "stall" tactics.

check out how your reps voted- go to www.congress.org

to be informed is to be formidable.

[Richardini]

This is what homophobia does to a person. When you live in a country that is so anti-gay that young bashers kill a Matthew Shepherd to prove that they are real men, it is no wonder that Craig, a real sick closeted tea-room queen, would try to retain his former identity by voting against this law. The same might be said for Lindsay Graham about whom rumors are flying. Bush is the worst of all of them and I believe he has a couple of skeletons in his closet. Cheney does not comment much on it because of his gay daughter. I am sure that he thinks his grandson will end up gay. Straights just can't get their mind around what gay means. What a conundrum! I pity the poor bastards.

[Veleria29]

Craig is trying to make points with the Senate. He continues to vote against gay rights because he is not (gay) ?????

[castlerider]

Larry has this constant frown that really seems to show a stressed out unhappy person.
Has that real angry pig look.

[racetoinfinity]

What a self-hating piece of crap he is!

[loki]

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[demigod]

A REPUBLICAN SLANDER AND LIE ORGANIZATION ???? No, it can't be ! You mean, one that does it MORE than all the rest ?

[LIR]

I was tapping in the stall one day, in the merry, merry month of May, when it happened by surprise that a hunky cop caught my eye, so I cruised him til he took me in!

What a nasty, nasty naughty boy that Larry is, for voting to oppose the hate crime bill. Just what would he say sometime when, while trolling for dick at another rest room, some creep decides to rearrange his face or worse?

But I am not gay!

[truthyguy]

Talk about biting the hand that feeds you (so to speak), Lavatory Larry...

[frappe]

People like Larry Craig (and the GOP faithful) are so deeply conflicted. He should just accept the fact that he's gay and get on with his life.

I don't believe that it's a moral choice like many in the GOP seem to think. Quite the contrary. I think it's genetic. It's innate. There is no choice. Just as we are born as either male or female, I believe people are born as either straight or gay. It's a shame that some gays torture themselves over something that they had absolutely no control over.

The world would be a much better place if we all were more understanding and tolerant and less judgmental. Live and let live.

[pangardenguru]

I agree but you can thank all these 'good moral christians' for never letting that happen. If you want real peace, real truth, real decency or real morality you better get rid of the plaque of religion first.

[demigod]

No, no, no - our all knowing, all loving and all powerful God gave homos this cross of pain to bear as a TEST, and it is these bestial animals' Christian duty to deny the devil and overcome these sins of the flesh ! Don't you know ANYTHING ?

[NotMyPrez]

How do you "take back" the internet? It's a global entity.

The revolution will not be televised, it will be on Youtube.

[kroses98]

(Sing to the tune of "Knock Three Times.") Just tap three times if you see me in the menns' rooom, and pick up the paaaaper on the bathroom flooor! OOOOH, my honey, please tap three times, if you see me in the menns' rooom, and I willll looove you....forevvvver mooore!!!

[nomorebombs]

fricken hypocrits...as the middle east burns

[ecoflame]

This is the statement of Purpose: "To provide Federal assistance to States, local jurisdictions, and Indian tribes to prosecute hate crimes, and for other purposes."

In a nutshell, them that don't needs help.

[KenNY]

It is hard to believe that Larry Craig voted againsy this legislation. Larry needs some therapy to deal with his bi-sexual nature. Perhaps we should send Larry to Iran on a fact finding mission.

[ThomasDoubting]

The Republican Party is the party of hate! They hate Blacks, they hate Gays, they hate Mexicans, they hate Muslims, and Catholics too, they hate almost everyone. They don't say much about it in public, but it must be obvious to all that they also hate women. It blows my mind, that members of each of those groups, vote for Republicans. It is really bizarre!

[gonnuts]

... and apparently they hate themselves too.

[frappe]

I think that the Republicans like to think of themselves as "rugged individualists" -- independent thinkers, shakers and movers, embracing the "entrepreneurial spirit", etc., etc. We've all heard characterizations of Senate Republicans as being like a "herd of cats", meaning independent and difficult to control or obtain a consensus opinion. But based on their actions, they are just the opposite.

In actuality, Republicans seem to favor conformity more than anything else. And, boy, when one of theirs steps out of line, they attack like a pack of wolves. Many of them seem unable to tolerate dissent. And when they hear dissent, they quickly characterize it as unpatriotic or unAmerican. They quickly pass judgment and assign labels and by so doing it is they whose thoughts and actions are unAmerican and unpatriotic. They sometimes remind me of the "Borg" from Star Trek fame.

[KevinMast]

Larry though doth protest too much. You just sealed your fate here. Mike Rogers is gonna out you big time now.

[NotMyPrez]

But the Borg were an efficient, adaptable species- don't give them a bad rap!

Problem is the classic small-gov fiscally conservative Republican is extinct, replaced by the neo-con, Burke- Straussian empiricist bent on world "Democratization", and "pre-emptive" action. Note that "pre-emptive" also means "aggressive" on the flipside.

I got yer 1% right here, Dick.

[politicalsongs]

Check out "I Saw Larry Licking Santa Claus" at Politicalsongs.com

[Qbear]

For National Comming Out Day

everyone just tell Larry...WE KNOW!