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Written by Mary Griggs
New Orleans GLBT
It took much too long, more than a decade. And it came at too great a price: the brutal killings of Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. are just two among the thousands of crimes motivated by hate and bigotry. When talking about the need for hate crimes legislation, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said: "The time for debate is over."
She was right.
The president has put pen to paper and fulfilled a campaign promise by the signing of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, extending the federal hate crimes statute to include sexual orientation and gender identity along with race, religion, gender, national origin and disability. Our deepest hope and strong belief is that this new law will save lives. Now, lawmakers and the president have made an imperative statement to the country and the world: Our nation will no longer tolerate hate-motivated violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people.
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Reporting Program, there are nearly 8,000 hate crime-related incidents annually, and more than 1,200 of those incidents involve violence based on sexual orientation or gender identity. And even more alarming, while the overall occurrence of hate crimes is declining nationally, hate crimes against LGBT people have been increasing. This year alone, we saw hate crimes trials in the brutal killings of two transgender women, Angie Zapata and Lateisha Green.
As a result of this legislation, if local jurisdictions are unable or unwilling to investigate or prosecute hate crimes based on sexual orientation or gender identity, the Justice Department can now step in. And that's why the LGBT community never stopped working for this historic day.
This legislation not only has practical value, but is a symbol of our progress. It is the first time in the nation's history that Congress has passed explicit protections on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. We could not have reached this moment without the powerful support of our allies who stood with us every step of the way. We are deeply grateful to civil rights, civic, faith and disability rights groups, as well as law enforcement and district attorney organizations that worked side by side with the LGBT advocates. We are equally thankful to Congress, President Obama and members of his administration for passing and signing this bill into law.
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| Mary Griggs |
 Mary Griggs is the Managing Director for Forum For Equality, a civil rights organization dedicated to promoting good govenment and to protecting the civil rights of lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgender persons in the state of Louisiana. She is also a senior consultant with Pacific Training and Resources, a consulting firm that specializes in assisting non-profits integrate their mission and administration.Mary is a founding Board member of The Community Coalition of Greater New Orleans, a member at large of the Greater New Orleans Women’s Soccer League, a board member of the Golden Crown Literary Society and was the past Female Co-chair of the LGBT Community Center of New Orleans. |
