Matthew Shepard was the young man killed in Wyoming because of his sexual orientation while James Byrd was the Texan decapitated by white racists in Texas. Why do we need hate crimes legislation? Two of the three men that killed Byrd were well-known white supremacists.
Victim advocates believe we cannot trust local and state law enforcement officials to adequately investigate crimes when then victim is somehow different.
Of course, hate crimes legislation has its detractors. For instance, Republican Virginia Foxx of North Carolina insulted the Shepard family by saying that it was a hoax that Shepard died over his sexual orientation. How did your Rep vote? See it here.
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