Dems add long-sought hate crimes measure to Defense bill

Just days after Arizona Sen. John McCain forged an unusual bipartisan alliance with the White House to cut $1.75 billion in increased spending for the F-22 jet fighter, congressional Democratic leaders on Wednesday added a hate-crimes measure to the must-pass bill. The move, backed by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., sparked heated debate on the Senate floor as McCain unsuccessfully sought to remove the hate crimes amendment, known as the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act, from the broader defense spending measure on the grounds that the two matters are unrelated. The provision, named for Shepard, a gay 21-year-old University of Wyoming student who was robbed, beaten and left to die in 1998, would extend protection under the federal hate crimes law to people who've been attacked based on sexual orientation, disabilities, gender or gender identity. The Democratic leadership attached the hate crimes amendment to the annual defense authorization bill because the military spending measure must pass. Opponents claim such crimes are already covered by state laws or that the amendment would have a "chilling effect" on free speech.