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News and commentary about the anti-gay lobbyMay 3rd, 2007
In an apparent cave to the unhinged conservative base, the White House as issued a veto threat against the hate crimes bill that is currently before the House:
The White House, in a statement, said state and local criminal laws already provide penalties for the crimes defined by the bill and “there has been no persuasive demonstration of any need to federalize such a potentially large range of violent crime enforcement.”
It also questioned the constitutionality of federalizing the acts of violence barred by the bill and said that if it reaches the president’s desk “his senior advisers would recommend that he veto the bill.”
Update: The House just passed H.R. 1592 by a vote of 237-180. To override an expected presidential veto, they would need to pick up 55 more votes. The bill now goes on to the Senate where it is expected to pass.
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David C
May 3rd, 2007
And Ann Coulter wonders why most gays refuse to vote Republican.
Presidents Nixon, Reagan, Bush sr. and G.W. Bush never questioned the constitutionality of the federal hate crimes law as it currently exists to my knowledge. And the Republican Congress from 1994 to 2006 never moved to repeal it. But when it comes to extending it to cover sex, gender identity and sexual orientation it is unnecessary and probably unconstitutional.
President Bush must think we’re all stupid.
Erica
May 3rd, 2007
I wish GW hadn’t discovered that he could veto bills.
Besides, since when is it the job of the executive branch to rule on constitutionality… but then, I guess they had to come up with some “compelling” reason.
Timothy Kincaid
May 8th, 2007
One thing that was brought to my attention on another site was that this bill does more than simply add sexual orientation to the list. It also goes on to change the Federal government’s response.
I don’t know how true that is. But if it is the case, this troubles me. I don’t want to federalize crime more than currently is the case – though I do favor hate crimes tracking, forensic support, profiling, and other federal support for local law enforcement. However, I firmly believe that any enhancements or extensions of sentencing should be at the state and not the federal level.
If, indeed, this bill is being used as a subterfuge to federalize certain criminal behavior, I would favor a veto. Unfortunately, because of the nature of the Culture War, there’s no credible sources to say whether that’s a legitimate concern or just something thrown up as a smokescreen elsewhere. It will all be spun around pro-gay or anti-gay arguments.
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