2009: The Year We Pass the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act!

And read the cover letters from some other AAMIA leaders:

Rev. Dr. Rolen Lewis Womack, Jr.

Rev. Byron Williams

Rev. Dr. Kenneth Lee Samuel

Rev. Dr. Robert P. Shine

Both the House and the Senate have passed the Hate Crimes Prevent in Act! In the Senate, it passed as an amendment to the Defense Authorization bill, and that is the form in which it will hopefully reach the president's desk. Now, it's up to House members of the conference committee to make sure that the Matthew Shepard Act remains in the authorization bill. And the Right is not throwing in the towel yet.

Opposition from the Religious Right

Religious Right leaders are vehemently opposed to federal hate crimes laws in large measure because they resist any legal recognition of LGBT people (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Transgender). They know that most Americans support hate-crimes legislation, anti-discrimination laws, and legal protection for gay couples. So they create confusion by portraying these steps toward equality as dire threats to religious liberty. This is part of a larger political strategy by Religious Right leaders to advance their policy goals and mobilize supporters with alarmist claims that Christians in America are on the verge of being jailed for their religious beliefs.

Read the Right Wing Watch In Focus: Right Sounds False Alarm on Hate Crimes Legislation.

Read more about the Right's campaign against this legislation on the Right Wing Watch blog.

Check out the Right's ridiculous talking points here and here. (These talking points are being parroted by right-wing members of Congress -- like Michele Bachmann and Virginia Foxx, who outrageously called Matthew Shepard's murder a hoax... in front of the slain boy's mother! -- and in the right-wing media.)

The Progressive Religious Response

African American Ministers In Action (AAMIA) and dozens of organizations from across the spectrum of faiths have strongly supported the Hate Crimes Prevention Act. AAMIA has produced a number of documents in an effort to speak the truth about the Hate Crimes Prevention Act and dispel the false rhetoric of the Religious Right.

"We support The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009 (H.R. 1913) because it does in fact protect individuals against the incidence of VIOLENCE motivated by the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability of the victim. The legislation also provides strong first amendment protections ensuring that the religious liberty and free speech rights of pastors, such as ourselves, and others are protected."

Read the AAMIA Fact Sheet on the Hate Crimes Prevention Act.

Download talking points about the Hate Crimes Prevention Act and set the record straight.

Quotes from AAMIA ministers.