A
vote
in
the
U.S.
Senate
on
a
gay-
and
transgender-inclusive
hate
crimes
bill
was
put
on
hold
this
week
after
Senate
Majority
Leader
Harry
Reid
(D-Nev.)
abruptly
withdrew
a
controversial
defense
authorization
bill
to
which
the
hate
crimes
measure
was
to
be
considered
as
an
amendment.
Reid
pulled
the
defense
bill
from
the
Senate
floor
on
Wednesday,
minutes
after
Democrats
were
unable
to
break
a
Republican-led
filibuster
that
blocked
passage
of
a
Democrat-supported
amendment
calling
for
removing
U.S.
combat
troops
from
Iraq
by
next
spring.
“The
Senate
obviously
devoted
all
of
its
attention
to
the
Iraq
war,”
said
Brad
Luna,
spokesperson
for
the
Human
Rights
Campaign,
the
national
gay
advocacy
group
coordinating
lobbying
efforts
for
the
hate
crimes
bill.
“This
had
nothing
to
do
with
the
hate
crimes
bill.”
But
a
spokesperson
for
Reid
said
it
could
be
a
“long
time”
before
the
Nevada
senator
brings
the
defense
bill
back
to
the
floor
for
a
vote,
a
development
that
could
lead
to
an
indefinite
hold
on
the
hate
crimes
bill
and
dozens
of
other
amendments
that
senators
were
seeking
to
attach
to
the
defense
measure.
“He’ll
consider
bringing
it
back
when
Republicans
are
ready
to
stop
obstructing
our
amendments,”
said
Rodell
Mollineau,
Reid’s
press
spokesperson.
Mollineau
said
Reid
supports
the
hate
crimes
bill
and
is
ready
to
work
with
the
bill’s
supporters
to
arrange
for
another
legislative
vehicle
to
which
it
could
be
attached
if
the
stalemate
over
the
defense
authorization
bill
drags
on.
Republican
and
Democratic
senators
had
planned
to
introduce
as
many
as
60
amendments
to
the
defense
bill
on
a
wide
range
of
subjects,
including
the
hate
crimes
amendment
and
efforts
to
change
—
or
reaffirm
—
President
Bush’s
handling
of
the
Iraq
war.
Sens.
Edward
Kennedy
(D-Mass.)
and
Gordon
Smith
(R-Ore.)
filed
the
Matthew
Shepard
Local
Law
Enforcement
Hate
Crimes
Prevention
Act
of
2007
on
the
Senate
floor
on
July
11
in
the
form
of
an
amendment
to
the
defense
authorization
measure.
Gay
and
transgender
activists
were
hoping
the
Senate
would
take
a
break
from
its
heated
debate
on
the
war
to
vote
on
the
Shepard
hate
crimes
amendment
late
last
week
or
early
this
week.
Supporters
believe
they
have
a
filibuster-proof
majority
of
more
than
60
votes
lined
up
for
the
hate
crimes
measure.
The
White
House
has
said
President
Bush
might
veto
a
freestanding
hate
crimes
bill,
but
supporters
believe
he
would
be
much
less
likely
to
veto
an
important
defense
bill
on
which
the
hate
crimes
measure
was
attached.
The
House
passed
an
identical
version
of
the
hate
crimes
measure
as
a
freestanding
bill
earlier
this
year.
The
bill
would
give
the
federal
government
authority
to
prosecute
hate
crimes
based
on
the
victim’s
sexual
orientation,
gender
identity,
gender
and
disability.
Existing
federal
law
covers
victims
based
on
race,
religion
and
ethnicity.
Delays
surrounding
the
hate
crimes
measure
began
last
week,
when
Senate
Democrats,
led
by
Reid,
decided
to
wage
a
high-stakes
effort
to
push
through
an
amendment
to
the
defense
bill
that
they
said
was
aimed
at
ending
U.S.
combat
involvement
Iraq
by
early
next
year.
Republicans
responded
by
vowing
to
kill
the
amendment
with
a
filibuster.
Reid
called
an
all-night
marathon
session
for
the
Senate
on
Tuesday,
saying
he
wanted
to
force
his
Republican
rivals
to
remain
on
the
Senate
floor
to
keep
their
filibuster
going
rather
than
agreeing
to
adjourn
for
the
night
and
resume
the
filibuster
in
the
morning.
Reid
conceded
defeat
shortly
after
11
a.m.
Wednesday,
when
the
Senate
failed,
by
a
vote
of
52
to
47,
to
end
the
filibuster
through
a
motion
known
as
cloture.
Under
Senate
rules,
60
votes
are
needed
to
obtain
cloture.
It
was
at
that
time
that
Reid
announced
to
his
bleary-eyed
colleagues
that
he
was
pulling
the
defense
bill
from
the
Senate
floor.
He
did
not
say
when
he
would
bring
it
back.
Mollineau
said
Reid
and
his
Democratic
allies
would
not
likely
bring
the
bill
back
for
consideration
until
Republicans
compromise
over
their
hard
line
position
on
Iraq.
Luna
said
HRC
and
leaders
of
the
coalition
of
civil
rights
groups
supporting
the
hate
crimes
bill
believe
the
Democratic
leadership
remains
solidly
behind
the
hate
crimes
bill
and
that
the
delay
this
week
should
not
be
considered
a
sign
of
wavering.
But
Patrick
Sammon,
president
of
Log
Cabin
Republicans,
a
national
gay
group,
accused
Senate
Democrats
of
holding
the
hate
crimes
bill
“hostage”
to
what
he
called
their
doomed
attempt
to
force
President
Bush
to
change
his
policies
on
the
war.
“The
bottom
line
is
the
Democrats
don’t
have
the
votes
to
pass
their
Iraq
amendments,”
Sammon
said.
“Even
if
they
did,
everyone
knows
the
president
would
veto
the
bill.”
Noting
that
as
many
as
63
to
65
senators,
including
some
Republicans,
plan
to
vote
for
the
hate
crimes
amendment,
Sammon
said
it
would
be
a
“shame”
if
Reid
and
his
Democratic
allies
jeopardize
the
hate
crimes
amendment
by
holding
up
the
defense
authorization
bill.
John
Marble,
spokesperson
for
National
Stonewall
Democrats,
a
gay
Democratic
group,
accused
Log
Cabin
of
attempting
to
deflect
attention
from
what
he
called
the
Republican
Party’s
poor
record
on
gay
rights.
“The
Republicans
delivered
virtually
nothing
on
GLBT
issues
while
they
controlled
...
