Expand hate crimes bill.

Byline: The Register-Guard

Sen. Gordon Smith has a powerful new ally in his long-standing quest for passage of legislation that would expand the federal law on hate crime to cover violence against gays and lesbians.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, a fellow Republican and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has announced he will join Smith, Sen. Edward Kennedy. D-Mass., and other lawmakers from both parties in pushing for swift passage of a bill that would extend the federal hate crimes status, and its penalties, to crimes motivated by bias against sexual orientation, as well as gender and disability.

Passage of this legislation can't come soon enough. Nearly five years have passed since the brutal murder of Matthew Shepard, a gay Wyoming college student. His mother, Judy Shepard, appeared before a congressional committee this week to exhort lawmakers to pass a new hate crimes bill. "I want congressional leaders to look me in the eye and say no," she said. "I ask them: What is the downside to the legislation?"

It was Shepard's death that prompted Smith to become one of the first congressional Republicans to champion expanding the hate crime law. That effort gained momentum after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, when President Bush reminded the nation that hate crimes have no place in America, whether it's Muslims who are being attacked because of their religion or race, or gays who are being targeted because of their sexual orientation.

Existing federal law protects victims of crimes based on race, religion and national origin, and puts hate crimes under state and local jurisdictions. Legislation championed by Smith and Kennedy, which has passed the Senate several times only to be blocked in the House, would remove those limitations and allow federal investigators and prosecutors to pursue an expanded roster of hate crimes wherever they occur, and under whatever circumstances.

Opponents argue that every crime is a hate crime - and that hate crimes legislation criminalizes socially unacceptable beliefs and punishes people for what they think. But that's a shallow argument. Hate crime laws don't criminalize socially unacceptable beliefs; they increase the penalties for the very real crimes that flow out of those beliefs.

If the new hate crimes law passes, Americans can continue thinking whatever thoughts they want to about gays, blacks, Hispanics, Asians, Arabs, Jews or any other segment of society. It's only when extreme views cause an assault or killing that the new law would make it a matter of established motive. And motive has long been accepted as a vital factor in determining the degree of punishment.

Opponents also roll out the retread argument that the bill gives gays and lesbians unwarranted special rights. But that ignores the reality that gays remain the third-largest hate crime victim group in the country. Hatch announced his support for the new hate crimes bill at a rally attended by Trev Broudy, a West Hollywood man who recently was attacked as he hugged another man good night.

While pledging to get an expanded hate crimes bill to the Senate floor by September, Hatch and other Republicans have expressed fears that the federal bill could undermine state prosecutions, especially in states where the prosecution of a hate crime could include the death penalty. The Smith-Kennedy bill calls for federal assistance in prosecuting hate crimes, but only when requested by a state or local law enforcement agency with jurisdiction or in cases where the Justice Department believes that the law enforcement officials aren't pursuing a crime aggressively enough.

Surely, such relatively minor differences can be resolved with the strong bipartisan support that appears to be building for this legislation.

Lawmakers should be inspired by the perspective of Judy Shepard, who says she's not interested in the politics of the issue - only in getting an expanded hate crimes bill approved in Congress.

``We can never undo the past," she said. "But we can help to make sure what happened to Matthew never happens again.''