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IS HATE CRIMES GETTING VOTED ON TODAY?

According to The Advocate, The Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act may be attached to the Defense Department Authorization Bill by vote today:

The Senate is expected to vote Thursday on whether to attach to the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act to the Department of Defense authorization bill.

Democratic Senate majority leader Harry Reid called for the vote Wednesday.

"We must act in the name of Judy Shepard, of her son Matthew Shepard," Reid said from the Senate floor, "so that others may know justice. If their country doesn't stand up for them, if we don't stand up for them, who will?"

Some Republicans oppose the measure, but most Democrats support it and Reid hopes to get help from GOP moderates such as Senators Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine and Judd Gregg of New Hampshire in order to meet the 60-vote threshold necessary to pass the amendment.

I'm still nervous about this bill (see my previous post about attaching the DADT moratorium to it). The Defense Authorization is very controversial--let's be careful.

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