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February 22, 1989
101st Congress - The Hate Crimes Statistics Act is reintroduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. It was also introduced in the 99th and 100th congresses. It would require the Department of Justice to collect and publish data about crimes motivated by hatred based on race, religion, ethnicity and sexual orientation. -
June 27, 1989
House passes the Hate Crimes Statistics Act by a 368-47 vote. -
February 8, 1990
The U.S. Senate passes the Hate Crimes Statistics Act by a 92-4 vote. -
April 23, 1990
President George H.W. Bush signs the bill into law. -
November 4, 1993
The Hate Crimes Sentencing Enhancement Act is added as an amendment to the Violent Crime and Law Enforcement Act of 1994. It is later enacted. -
June 7, 1997
"Such hate crimes, committed solely because the victims have a different skin color or a different faith or are gays or lesbians, leave deep scars not only on the victims but on our larger community. They are acts of violence against America itself."– President Bill Clinton in his weekly radio address -
June 7, 1997
President Clinton devotes his weekly radio address to hate crimes, specifically citing bias crimes against LGBTQ people. He asks Attorney General Janet Reno to review the laws concerning hate crimes and help the federal government develop a plan of action. -
November 10, 1997
HRC Executive Director Elizabeth Birch participates in a White House hate crimes summit convened by Clinton. HRC asks the White House to focus also on how law enforcement officials are trained to investigate and prosecute bias crimes. Before the summit concludes, Clinton unveils a package of initiatives that includes expanding federal hate crimes laws to encompass crimes aimed at people because they are gay or disabled, or because of their sex. -
November 13, 1997
105th Congress - The Hate Crimes Prevention Act is introduced in the House and the Senate. The bill would extend the protection of the current federal hate crimes law to include those who are victimized because of their sexual orientation, gender or disability. It would also strengthen current law regarding hate crimes based on race, religion and national origin. -
February 1999
A Gallup poll indicates that 75 percent of Americans believe that "homosexuals" should be covered by hate crimes laws. -
March 1999
106th Congress - The Hate Crimes Prevention Act is reintroduced in the House and the Senate. -
Spring 2001
107th Congress - The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act is introduces in the House and the Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act is introduced in the Senate. The legislation would provide federal assistance to states and local jurisdictions to prosecute hate crimes. -
April/May 2003
108th Congress - The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act is reintroduced in the House and the Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act is reintroduced in the Senate. -
May 26, 2005
109th Congress - The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act is reintroduced in the House and the Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act is reintroduced in the Senate. -
2006
Harris Interactive reports that 54 percent of LGBTQ people surveyed say they are concerned about being the victim of a hate crime. -
2007
A Gallup poll shows that 68 percent of Americans favor including sexual orientation and gender identity in federal hate crimes law. More than half of conservatives (57 percent) and Republicans (60 percent) back inclusive legislation. Support is strongest among self-identified liberals (82 percent), Democrats (75 percent), those affiliated with non-Christian religious faiths (74 percent) and Catholics (72 percent). -
March/April 2007
110th Congress - The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act is introduced in the House, and the Matthew Shepard Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act is introduced in the Senate. -
Spring 2007
HRC produces a two-minute video in support of the passage of the Matthew Shepard Act. It features the stories of LGBTQ people who been injured or killed by hate violence: Evan Kittredge, Fred Martinez and Matthew Shepard. Using images from photojournalist Lynn Johnson with Cyndi Lauper’s song "All Through the Night," the video is a poignant call for people to get involved in the fight to pass hate crimes legislation. -
Spring 2007
Peter D. Hart Research Associates releases the results of a poll showing that support for protections against hate violence is strong - even across partisan and racial lines. The results show that three in four voters support including sexual orientation in federal hate crimes laws, including 85 percent of Democrats, 74 percent of Independents, 64 percent of Republicans, 74 percent of African-Americans, 74 percent of Latinos and 74 percent of Caucasians. -
Fall 2007
President Bush issues a veto threat for the Defense authorization bill if hate crimes legislation is attached, ending consideration of the hate crimes bill in the 110th Congress. -
May 3, 2007
The House passes the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act by a floor vote of 237-180. -
September 27, 2007
The Senate invokes cloture on the hate crimes legislation by a vote of 60-39. A voice vote adds the Matthew Shepard Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act as an amendment to the Department of Defense Authorization Act. It is the first time that a transgender-inclusive piece of legislation passes both chambers of Congress. -
December 6, 2007
The hate crimes amendment is stripped from the Defense Department authorization legislation. -
Spring 2008
Sen. Edward Kennedy speaks at HRC's spring board meeting and reaffirms his commitment to passing inclusive federal hate crimes legislation. -
November 18, 2008
President-elect Barack Obama’s transition team releases its vision of support for the civil rights and LGBTQ community in a straightforward and timely plan. It details a plan to expand hate crimes statutes. -
April 2009
111th Congress - The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act is introduced in the House, and the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act is introduced in the Senate. -
April 6, 2009
HRC launches http://www.fighthatenow.org/ to counter lies and distortions about federal hate crimes legislation. It provides supporters with the tools to directly contact their members of Congress to urge them to support the legislation. -
April 21, 2009
HRC releases a new video in conjunction with the campaign to pass federal hate crimes legislation. The video, "10 Years," features Judy Shepard. HRC also announces the #FightHateNow hashtag for Twitter users to contribute to and stay current on the status of the federal hate crimes bill. -
April 27-29, 2009
HRC holds a national call-in campaign for supporters to call their congressional representatives to urge quick passage of hate crimes legislation, the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009. -
April 29, 2009
The House passes the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act by a floor vote of 249-175. -
May 20, 2009
President Obama meets with Judy Shepard and reiterates his commitment to ensuring that the Senate finalize the hate crimes bill. -
July 16, 2009
Senate cloture motion on the hate crimes bill passes by a 63-28 vote. The bill is added to the Defense Department Authorization bill. -
July 23, 2009
The Senate passes the Defense Department Authorization bill, on which the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act is attached as an amendment. The bill goes to a conference committee to work out differences between the House and Senate versions of the legislation. -
October 6, 2009
The House fails to pass a motion, by a 178-234 vote, to instruct conferees to strip the hate crimes provision (now titled "Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act") from the Defense Dept. authorization bill conference report. -
October 10, 2009
President Obama reiterates his support for hate crimes legislation at the 13th annual HRC National Dinner. Dennis and Judy Shepard are honored with the first annual Edward M. Kennedy National Leadership Award. -
October 22, 2009
October 22, 2009 - The Senate votes 68-29 to pass the Defense Department authorization bill that includes a provision for inclusive federal hate crimes legislation. HRC launches Love Conquers Hate to celebrate the victory. -
October 28, 2009
President Barack Obama signs the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act into law (as a provision of the National Defense Authorization Act). Before signing the legislation, President Obama says, "I promised Judy Shepard when I saw her in the Oval Office that this day would come, and I'm glad that she and her husband Dennis could join us for this event."