Ninety-six
members
of
the
House
of
Representatives
have
co-sponsored
a
bill
authorizing
the
federal
government
to
prosecute
hate
crimes
based
on
a
person’s
sexual
orientation
and
gender
identity,
a
first-of-its-kind
reference
to
transgendered
persons
in
federal
legislation.
But
enthusiasm
for
the
bill
by
transgender
rights
activists
was
dampened
when
Senators
Edward
Kennedy
(D-Mass.)
and
Gordon
Smith
(R-Ore.)
introduced
a
Senate
version
of
the
bill
on
May
26
—
the
same
day
the
House
version
was
introduced
—
that
includes
a
sexual
orientation
clause
but
omits
the
gender
identity
language.
“We
argued
this
time
for
Senators
Kennedy
and
Smith
to
add
the
more
explicit
language
on
transgendered
people,”
said
Christopher
Labonte,
legislative
director
for
the
Human
Rights
Campaign,
the
nation’s
largest
gay
political
group.
“They
believe
their
version
covers
the
entire
GLBT
community,”
Labonte
said.
Labonte
was
referring
to
the
view
by
Kennedy
and
Smith
that
hate
crimes
committed
against
transgendered
persons
are
covered
in
the
Kennedy-Smith
bill
under
language
authorizing
federal
intervention
for
hate
crimes
based
on
someone’s
“actual
or
perceived”
sexual
orientation
or
gender.
HRC
shared
that
view
less
than
a
year
ago,
when
the
national
gay
political
group
opposed
adding
transgender
related
language
to
both
the
hate
crimes
bill
and
the
Employment
Non-Discrimination
Act.
HRC
has
since
changed
its
position,
saying
it
will
no
longer
support
ENDA
if
its
congressional
sponsors
don’t
add
trans-inclusive
language.
Transgender
activists,
led
by
the
National
Center
for
Transgender
Equality,
have
said
the
explicit
language
of
“gender
identity”
or
“gender
identity
and
expression”
is
needed
in
the
hate
crimes
bill
to
insure
judges
and
prosecutors
understand
that
transgendered
people
are
covered
under
the
legislation.
Mara
Keisling,
the
National
Center
for
Transgender
Equality’s
executive
director,
said
the
more
inclusive
language
would
have
an
impact
beyond
the
prosecution
of
hate
crimes.
“We
pass
these
laws
not
just
because
it’s
an
extra
tool
to
prosecute
crimes,”
she
said.
“We
do
it
because
it
educates
law
enforcement
officials
and
potential
assailants
who
may
commit
these
crimes.”
Both
the
House
and
Senate
versions
of
the
legislation
call
for
amending
an
existing
federal
anti-hate
crimes
statute
that
authorizes
federal
prosecution
for
hate
crimes
based
on
someone’s
race,
religion
and
ethnicity.
The
Kennedy-Smith
bill
adds
sexual
orientation,
gender,
and
disability
to
the
categories
covered
under
the
existing
law.
The
House
version
adds
the
categories
of
sexual
orientation,
gender,
disability
and
gender
identity.
The
lead
co-sponsors
of
the
House
version
are
Rep.
Barney
Frank
(D-Mass.),
who
is
gay,
Rep.
Tammy
Baldwin
(D-Wisc.),
who
is
a
lesbian,
and
Reps.
John
Conyers
(D-Mich),
Christopher
Shays
(R-Conn.),
and
Illeana
Ros-Lehtinen
(R-Fla.).
Gay
Rep.
Jim
Kolbe
(R-Ariz.)
also
signed
on
as
a
co-sponsor.
As
of
late
last
week,
when
Congress
recessed
for
the
Memorial
Day
holiday,
a
total
of
96
House
members
had
signed
on
as
co-sponsors
for
the
House
bill,
H.R.
2662,
the
Local
Law
Enforcement
Hate
Crimes
Prevention
Act
of
2005.
Of
the
96
co-sponsors,
91
are
Democrats
and
5
are
Republicans.
Forty-three
senators,
including
Kennedy
and
Smith,
signed
on
as
Senate
co-sponsors
of
the
Senate
bill,
the
Local
Law
Enforcement
Enhancement
Act
of
2005,
as
of
the
time
of
the
recess.
Of
that
total,
38
are
Democrats
and
five
are
Republicans.
Various
versions
of
the
Kennedy-Smith
bill
have
been
introduced
in
the
Senate
and
House
since
the
mid-1990s.
The
Senate
on
two
occasions
passed
versions
with
sexual
orientation
language,
the
most
recent
last
year.
The
House
killed
that
version
in
a
House-Senate
conference
committee,
despite
the
fact
that
the
full
House
voted
213-186
to
instruct
its
conferees
to
support
the
addition.
Kennedy
has
not
spoken
publicly
about
his
position
on
a
gender
identity
clause
in
the
hate
crimes
bills.
Capitol
Hill
insiders
have
said
Kennedy
believes
adding
such
a
clause
would
hurt
the
bill’s
chances
of
passing
and
would
prompt
several
senators
to
withdraw
their
support
for
the
legislation.
In
the
past,
as
many
as
49
senators
have
signed
on
as
co-sponsors
of
the
Kennedy-Smith
hate
crimes
bill,
six
more
than
the
43
co-sponsors
so
far
this
year.
A
few
co-sponsors
from
last
year,
including
former
Senate
Minority
Leader
Tom
Daschle
(D-S.D.),
lost
their
re-election
bids
to
conservative
Republicans
hostile
to
gay
rights.
Frank,
while
becoming
one
of
the
lead
co-sponsors
of
the
hate
crimes
bill
in
the
House,
which
includes
transgender
language,
has
said
he
opposes
adding
transgender
language
to
the
Employment
Non-Discrimination
Act,
or
ENDA.
ENDA
calls
for
banning
employment
discrimination
in
the
private
sector
based
on
sexual
orientation.
ENDA
and
previous
versions
of
gay
civil
rights
bills
have
languished
in
Congress
since
the
1970s.
Frank
has
said
adding
a
transgender
clause
to
ENDA
would
result
in
fewer
co-sponsors.
A
transgender
clause
is
more
suited
for
a
hate
crimes
bill,
Frank
has
said,
because
hate
crimes
are
threats
against
physical
safety
of
citizens,
including
transgender
people,
and
a
legislative
remedy
would
gain
far
more
support
in
Congress.
Frank
says
ENDA
remains
doomed
in
the
Republican-controlled
Congress
whether
it
includes
a
transgender
clause.
But
he
argues
that
adding
such
a
clause
could
hurt
the
legislation’s
chances
of
passing
for
years
to
come.
Transgender
rights
advocates,
like
Keisling,
argue
that
ENDA
backers
should
embrace
a
transgender
clause
as
an
educational
tool
to
build
gradual
support
for
transgender
rights
at
a
time
when
everyone
knows
ENDA
can’t
pass.
ENDA
backers
in
the
House
and
Senate
have
yet
to
reintroduce
the
legislation
this
year.
HRC
has
said
it
expects
to
line
up
supporters
for
a
trans-inclusive
version
of
ENDA
later
in
the
year.
However,
Kennedy
—
one
of
ENDA’s
lead
co-sponsors,
is
expected
to
introduce
the
bill
without
a
transgender
clause.
