October 2009

President Obama signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, expanding federal hate crime law to include sexual orientation, gender identity, and disability, and giving DOJ authority to prosecute racially motivated crimes without requiring a violation of a federally protected activity. Named partly for James Byrd Jr., the Black Texan man dragged to death in 1998, the law was a decade-long legislative victory for civil rights advocates.

President Obama signed the law expanding federal hate crime coverage to include sexual orientation, gender identity, and disability, and giving DOJ authority to prosecute racially motivated crimes. Named partly for James Byrd Jr., the Black Texan dragged to death in 1998, it was a decade-long legislative victory.