Hate crime protection for LGBT community

President Barack Obama signed a defense bill ending costly weapons projects and expanding war efforts. The bill also includes a major civil rights change: it makes it a federal hate crime to assault anyone based on his or her sexual orientation. This change was a priority for the late Senator Edward Kennedy, a Democrat from Massachusetts.

It has been on the congressional agenda for a decade. It is named for Matthew Shepard, a gay college student from Wyoming who was murdered 11 years ago because of his sexual orientation. Obama said that people will be protected from hate crimes based on “what they look like, who they love, how they pray or why they are.”

“I think it’s important that crimes that specifically target a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity are prosecuted to the furthest extent of the law,” said Derk Babbitt, University of Northern Iowa PROUD member.

Babbitt also said that he is worried because although the funds are provided to investigate these kinds of crime, he believes it won’t happen.

“Few crimes are actually looked into,” Babbitt said.

Maureen Doherty, a campus minister for the Episcopal Church, participates in PROUD meetings and said the “bill is important” and it is necessary to make it clear that these crimes are “unacceptable.”

Babbitt said he feels that it is a “good move” to protect the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and that he hopes the bill is actually followed. Babbitt said that personal stories such as Shepard’s show a connection to people.

“(It) opens people’s eyes,” Babbitt said.

Doherty said she feels that it is unfortunate that the law had to be buried in a defense bill in order to get passed. She feels it may be  “umbrella coverage” that state laws may ignore. She hopes the UNI campus is “moving past that attitude” against the LGBT community.

She mentioned that the Safe Ally program and PROUD are wonderful programs on campus that will help make the community feel safer.

She said that there is “always more that can be done” to make the campus more open and welcome.

 

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