National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Inc. - Hate Crimes Protections 2007 Action Center

Task Force works toward passage of Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2007

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, Inc., strongly supports the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2007 (LLEHCPA), introduced March 20 by U.S. Reps. John Conyers (D-Mich.) and Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) in the House and April 12 by Sens. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) in the Senate. This year, both the Senate and the House versions are clearly transgender-inclusive. On May 3, the House of Representatives passed the legislation by a vote of 237-180. Senate action is expected later this summer.

The lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community is particularly affected by hate crimes violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity/expression. National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs documented 9 anti-LGBT murders in 2005 alone. According to the FBI, 14 percent of hate crimes in 2005 were motivated by sexual orientation bias. This means that gay people — or people perceived to be gay — are disproportionately the victims of these terrible crimes. Although the FBI doesn’t track anti-transgender hate crimes (something that would be fixed if the LLEHCPA becomes law), we do know transgender people suffer from greatly disproportionate numbers of violent hate crimes as well. Anti-LGBT violence is not a new problem, but one which has existed for years.

The Task Force began working to get the federal government to respond to hate crimes in the mid-1980s and our own Anti-Violence Project was instrumental in getting the Hate Crimes Statistics Act of 1990 enacted. Seventeen years later, we finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. The new congressional leadership has fully supported hate crimes protections in the past, and with your help, 2007 can be the year this bill is finally passed into law. We've made it easy for you to take action, too, by clicking any of the buttons on this page. Make a donation, get your friends involved in the fight, and let your Senators know how you feel.

You can also learn more about the Task Force’s long history of working to secure hate crimes protections for our community. Read our historical narrative and timeline. You can also download a comprehensive hate crimes issue map.


	©2007 The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Action Fund, founded in 1974 as the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, Inc., works to build the grassroots political power of the LGBT community to win complete equality. We do this through direct and grassroots lobbying to defeat anti-LGBT ballot initiatives and legislation and pass pro-LGBT legislation and other measures. We also analyze and report on the positions of candidates for public office on issues of importance to the LGBT community. The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Action Fund is a 501(c)(4) non-profit corporation incorporated in New York. Contributions to the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Action Fund are not tax deductible.