Rep. DeGette Votes For Hate Crimes Protection

Congresswoman Diana DeGette has voted for tougher penalties against those who commit hate crimes, or violence motivated by sexual orientation and gender.

More after the flip.From the press release:

Chief Deputy Whip Diana DeGette (D-CO) voted today to provide historic protections for Americans victimized by hate crimes. H.R. 1592, Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2007, which passed the U.S. House of Representative by a vote of 237-180, broadens the U.S. Department of Justice’s jurisdiction to prosecute violent crimes against Americans who have been singled out because of their gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability.

“This bill sends a message that society will not tolerate hate crimes,” said Rep. DeGette. “In Colorado and across the country too many Americans are targeted because of who they are, the color of their skin, or their disability. This legislation enables law enforcement to fully prosecute hate crimes and opens the halls of justice to all Americans victimized by these abhorrent crimes.”

Colorado Reps. DeGette, Ed Permutter, and Mark Udall co-sponsored the resolution.

Erin Rosa was born in Spain and raised in Colorado Springs. She is a freelance writer currently living in Denver. Rosa's work has been featured in a variety of news outlets including the Huffington Post, Democracy Now!, and the Rocky Mountain Chronicle, an alternative-weekly in Northern Colorado where she worked as a columnist covering the state legislature. Rosa has received awards from the Society of Professional Journalists for her reporting on lobbying and woman's health issues. She was also tapped with a rare honorable mention award by the Newspaper Guild-CWA's David S. Barr Award in 2008--only the second such honor conferred in its nine-year history--for her investigative series covering the federal government's Supermax prison in the state. Rosa covers the labor community, corrections, immigration and government transparency matters. She can be reached at erosa@www.coloradoindependent.com.

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