The US Senate has just passed The Matthew Shepard bill, which will expand federal hate crime laws to include crimes that are "based on sexual orientation, gender, gender identity and disability". It's mind blowing to think that hate crimes only included crimes that were "motivated by bias based on race, color, religion or national origin" up until now. (And by "mind blowing" I mean embarrassing and pathetic.) Matthew Shepard was a 21-year-old young man who was killed in 1998 by a homophobic group in Wyoming, and his parents are very pleased with the passing of the bill:
"The Matthew Shepard Act is an essential step to erasing hate in America and we are humbled that it bears our son's name. It has been almost nine years since Matthew was taken from us. This bill is a fitting tribute to his memory and to all of those who have lost their lives to hate."