President Obama signed the Matthew Shepard & James Byrd, Jr. Hates Crimes Prevention Bill into law yesterday. While I am thrilled that it is now - finally - the law of the land, it really stretches the brain to wonder why it had to be placed as an "amendment" to a completely unrelated bill.Shepard/Byrd was part of the annual bill authorizing funding for the Defense Department.
This is the sort of slimy trickery that turns the collective stomach of the American people. I'll never understand why the process works this way.
That said, I'll take it. As this is, indeed, truly a special day. Shepard/Byrd is the first ever (EVER) federal LGBT civil rights legislation.
