Source: Official Portrait

Thirteen years in the making, Matthew Shepherd and James Byrd finally get their due. In a ceremony at the White House on Wednesday afternoon, President Obama signed a bill into law, named after the two men, that added crimes based on a victim’s sexual orientation, gender identity, and disability to the federal list of hate crimes.

Shepherd and Byrd were brutally murdered in separate incidents in 1998: Shepherd because he was gay, and Byrd because he was African-American.

The bill adds the possibility of additional punishment for someone found guilty of killing or causing serious harm to another person based on any of these attributes, which was previously limited to crimes based on race, religion, national origin, or ethnicity. Most importantly, though, US hate crimes law gives the Justice Department the ability to step in, and conduct their own investigation if local authorities are either unwilling or unable to look into a hate crime, or provide local authorities with assistance. In addition, under programs set up by the legislation, grants are available to help local law enforcement agencies combat youth violence and train officers to deal with these kinds of crimes.

The bill was first introduced in 1996 by the late Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA), but only passed this year after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid pushed for the bill to be amended to a “must-pass” Pentagon budget bill.

“After more than a decade, we have passed inclusive hate crimes legislation,” said President Obama. “I promised Judy and Dennis Shepard [parents of Matthew Shepherd] that this day would come and I’m glad they could join us for this event.”

(Thanks to Andy Birkey for watching this event live)

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