Disabilities will be protected under federal provisions of hate crimes in new law on the way to President Obama's desk for signature.
Not all lawmakers agreed that the federal government should play a role in federalizing hate crimes. According to the New York Times "Senator Jim DeMint, Republican of South Carolina, said he agreed that hate crimes were terrible. "That's why they are already illegal," Mr. DeMint said, asserting that the new law was a dangerous, even "Orwellian" step toward "thought crime." The bill was originally written in response to the murder of a gay man, Matthew Shepherd. It was introduced by Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) and had the backing of the late senator, Ted Kennedy. It passed the Senate by a vote of 68 to 29.
In a clear-cut hate crime in Australia, a judge took strong action in sentencing a man convicted of an unprovoked attack on a mentally ill man who was lost and seeking directions. A bold headline in AdelaideNow Reporter declared: "Repeat-offender thug jailed after Highway Inn assault."
