Decade after Shepard, no federal hate crime law

'A matter of when'
Under current federal law, hate crimes apply to acts of violence against individuals on the basis of race, religion, color or national origin. Federal prosecutors would have jurisdiction only if the victim is engaged in a specific federally protected activity such as voting.

The bill that passed the U.S. House last year would have extended the hate crime category to include sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or disability. It also would have given federal authorities greater leeway to participate in hate crime investigations and provided $10 million over two years to help local law enforcement officials cover the cost of hate crime prosecutions.

The U.S. Senate version, dubbed the Matthew Shepard Act, was attached to a spending bill for the Iraq war. Sixty Senators voted to support the amendment, but the legislation was later dropped by the House because of its attachment to the defense policy bill.

The White House argued that state and local laws already covered the new crimes defined under the House version of the bill and there was "no persuasive demonstration of any need to federalize such a potentially large range of violent crime enforcement."

Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, said it was a victory to get a hate crime bill passed in both chambers. He's hopeful for greater success with the next Congress and a new administration. Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama has committed to signing such a bill, while Republican nominee Sen. John McCain has yet to support it, Solmonese said.

Shepard, meanwhile, travels away from her home in Casper about six months of the year for her work with the foundation. Despite legal and legislative obstacles for gays, she believes American society has made strides over the past 10 years in accepting the gay community.

"Socially, we've made really, really great progress in educating the general public about gay and lesbian issues, so I feel really good about that," Shepard said.

She's hopeful the November election will usher in leaders who will pass federal hate crimes legislation.

"We're going to have a new president, whoever that may be, and new members of Congress, new senators, hopefully with open minds and open hearts, who have a better understanding of the gay community," Shepard said. "It's not of matter of if, it's a matter of when."

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