Congress extends hate crime protections to gays

By JIM ABRAMS, Associated Press Writer

Thursday, October 22, 2009

(10-22) 15:00 PDT WASHINGTON (AP) --

Physical attacks on people based on their sexual orientation will join the list of federal hate crimes in a major expansion of the civil rights-era law Congress approved Thursday and sent to President Barack Obama.

A priority of the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., that had been on the congressional agenda for a decade, the measure expands current law to include crimes based on gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability. The measure is named for Matthew Shepard, the gay Wyoming college student murdered 11 years ago. MORE HERE!