The chairman of
the House Judiciary Committee has eliminated hate-crimes
provisions benefiting gays and lesbians from a child
safety bill. The language had been added to the
Children's Safety and Violent Crimes Reduction Act of
2005 on a strong bipartisan vote last fall, but
Republican representative James Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin
used a procedural move to get rid of it.
The hate-crimes language would have allowed
federal authorities to help investigate and prosecute
attacks on gays and lesbians. Conservative groups
lobbied hard against the amendment, but it passed last
September on a vote of 233-199.
In reaction to Sensenbrenner's move, Human
Rights Campaign president Joe Solomonese said in a
statement, "The United States Congress is not a card
game. You can't just keep reshuffling the deck if you don't
like the first hand the majority deals you."
Two senators have discussed introducing
hate-crimes language to the Senate's version of the
child safety resolution. Then a House-Senate committee
would decide whether to include it in the final language
before the bill becomes law. (Sirius OutQ News)
Viral post saying Republicans 'have two daddies now' has MAGA hot and bothered