Oct 30, 2009  |  By: Chris Johnson  | COMMENTS     

Flanked by Defense Department officials and members of Congress, President Obama on Wednesday signed into law an LGBT hate crimes measure as part of a massive Pentagon spending bill.

“After more than a decade of opposition and delay, we passed inclusive hate crimes legislation to help protect our citizens from violence based what they look like, who they love, how they pray or who they are,” Obama said in the East Room of the White House.

Obama signed the measure, known as the Matthew Shepard & James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, as part of the Fiscal Year 2010 Defense Authorization Act. The law allows the Justice Department to assist in the prosecution of hate crimes based on actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity, among other categories.

After signing the law, Obama remarked, “There you go,” and shook hands with Judy and Dennis Shepard, the parents of Matthew Shepard, a gay college student who was murdered in 1998 because of his sexual orientation.

Also in the audience to witness the signing were Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign; Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), who introduced the hate crimes amendment that was adopted into the defense bill; and Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.), son of the late Sen. Edward Kennedy, who worked for more than a decade to pass the legislation before his death.

Solmonese said in an interview that the bill is significant because it “sends a very important message” and shows that the Obama administration has “a vision for this country that includes LGBT people.”

“But on a practical note, I always like to stress that this legislation is a reaction to a real need — a need that was put forth by local enforcement,” he said. “We hear from people working in local law enforcement about their genuine desire to have this legislation enacted so that they … draw on the federal resources that they would have in other sorts of crimes that are committed against whole communities of people.”

The measure becomes the first significant federal law on the books specifically aimed at LGBT people. The Hate Crimes Statistics Act of 1990 required the U.S. attorney to collect data on bias-motivated violent crimes committed against gays, but didn’t provide any authority for the Justice Department to prosecute such violence.

“It is notable that we’re passing something that … most people out there when you talk to them think, ‘My God, that hasn’t happened yet,’” Solmonese said. “It’s important and it’s long overdue and for so many people in this country, unfortunately, it is still a piece of legislation that is needed.”

Trevor Thomas, an HRC spokesperson, said the law takes effect immediately and the Justice Department now has the authority to investigate suspected hate crimes, but the attorney general also must work on issuing guidance, which should be completed in a few weeks.

Obama elaborated on the importance of enacting the law in a speech at a White House reception later Wednesday before an audience of about 200 LGBT activists. He was flanked by Judy, Dennis and Logan Shepard as well as the sisters of James Byrd, a black man killed in a 1998 hate crime in Texas. The president acknowledged those who had worked on passing the measure for more than a decade.

“You understood that we must stand against crimes that are meant not only to break bones, but to break spirits — not only to inflict harm, but to instill fear,” he said. “You understand that the rights afforded every citizen under our Constitution mean nothing if we do not protect those rights — both from unjust laws and violent acts. And you understand how necessary this law continues to be.”

The president said FBI data from the most recently reported year shows there were around 7,600 hate crimes in the country — and that over the last 10 years, more than 12,000 reported hate crimes were committed on the basis of sexual orientation alone.

“No one in America should ever be afraid to walk down the street holding the hands of the person they love — no one in America should be forced to look over their shoulder because of who they are or because they live with a disability,” he said. “At root, this isn’t just about our laws; this is about who we are as a people. This is about whether we value one another — whether we embrace our differences, rather than allowing them to become a source of animus.”

Recalling the gruesome details of Shepard’s 1998 murder, Obama said, “It’s ...