The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, also known as the Matthew Shepard Act, is an American Act of Congress, passed on October 22, 2009, and signed into law by President Barack Obama on October 28, 2009, as a rider to the National Defense Authorization Act for 2010 (H.R. 2647). Conceived as a response to the murders of Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr., the measure expands the 1969 United States federal hate-crime law to include crimes motivated by a victim's actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability.
The bill also:
- removes the prerequisite that the victim be engaging in a federally protected activity, like voting or going to school;
- gives federal authorities greater ability to engage in hate crimes investigations that local authorities choose not to pursue;
- provides $5 million per year in funding for fiscal years 2010 through 2012 to help state and local agencies pay for investigating and prosecuting hate crimes;
- requires the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to track statistics on hate crimes based on gender and gender identity (statistics for the other groups were already tracked).
The Act is the first federal law to extend legal protections to transgender people.
Read more about Matthew Shepard And James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act: Origin, Background, Opposition, Legislative History, Enforcement, Court Challenge
Famous quotes containing the words matthew, shepard, james, hate, crimes, prevention and/or act:
“...the heirs of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
—Bible: New Testament, Matthew 8:12.
“Getting emotional about things is a peacetime luxury. In wartime, it’s much too painful.”
—Edmund H. North, British screenwriter, and Lewis Gilbert. Captain Shepard (Kenneth More)
“All it means, if you wilt that way with a lady, is that you haven’t yet really met her. You’re not trying to make love to a woman, you’re trying not to miss an opportunity.”
—Clive James (b. 1939)
“I hate that word. It’s return—a return to the millions of people who’ve never forgiven me for deserting the screen.”
—Billy Wilder (b. 1906)
“As you from crimes would pardoned be,
Let your indulgence set me free.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“... if this world were anything near what it should be there would be no more need of a Book Week than there would be a of a Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.”
—Dorothy Parker (1893–1967)
“The important thing is that when you come to understand something you act on it, no matter how small that act is. Eventually it will take you where you need to go.”
—Helen Prejean (b. 1940)