Press

NGLTF Calls On Congress To Close Loopholes, Expand Categories To Include Sexual Orientation, Gender, Disability Status

MEDIA CONTACT:
Roberta Sklar, Director of Communications
media@theTaskForce.org
646.358.1465

The U.S. Senate early this week could vote on a measure that would expand the existing hate crimes statute to cover disability status, gender and sexual orientation and would make it easier for federal authorities to prosecute crimes of violence.

Senators are expected to vote on whether to amend an appropriations bill to include the Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 1999. NGLTF Executive Director Kerry Lobel noted that if the amendment is added to the bill, it will mark the first concrete action Congress has taken since the murders of Matthew Shepard, James Byrd Jr. and Billy Jack Gaither.

"No one should be a target for bias-motivated violence because of their real or perceived sexual orientation," Lobel said. "Hate crimes should no longer have to be a fact of life for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people."

Lobel added that the Hate Crimes Prevention Act offers Congress a real opportunity to address violence. "Our nation strives for fair and equal treatment for everyone," she said. "The Hate Crimes Prevention Act would send a message to both the GLBT community and to would-be perpetrators that anti-GLBT crimes are unacceptable."

Earlier this month, Missouri became the 22nd state (plus the District of Columbia) to enact hate crimes legislation that covers sexual orientation. NGLTF tracks GLBT-related legislation in all 50 states. For more information, please consult the 1999 NGLTF Legislative Updates at http://www.ngltf.org/legupdate99.

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The mission of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force is to build the political power of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community from the ground up. We do this by training activists, organizing broad-based campaigns to defeat anti-LGBT referenda and advance pro-LGBT legislation, and by building the organizational capacity of our movement. Our Policy Institute, the movementís premier think tank, provides research and policy analysis to support the struggle for complete equality and to counter right-wing lies. As part of a broader social justice movement, we work to create a nation that respects the diversity of human expression and identity and creates opportunity for all. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., we also have offices in New York City, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis and Cambridge.