HR 1913: Hate Crimes Bill Passes Passes House

HR 1913 (Local Law Enforcement Prevention Act of 2009) has passed the House of Representatives, 247-175.  Please take a look at the roll call to see if your Congressional Representative voted for the bill.  Please call and thank them for their support if they voted yes.  I'm proud to say that Congressman Jim Cooper (TN-5), my representative, voted for the bill as did Steve Cohen (TN-9). 

Seventeen democrats voted against the bill, three of them, sadly, from Tennessee:  Davis (TN-4), Gordon (TN-6) and Tanner (TN-8). There were 18 Republicans who voted in favor of the measure.

The Senate is expected to pass its version of hate crimes legislation, which was introduced earlier this week by Ted Kennedy (S.909).  Here's a list of the 33 co-sponsors who have signed on already. 

Sen. Edward Kennedy [D, MA]
Sen. Daniel Akaka [D, HI]
Sen. Evan Bayh [D, IN]
Sen. Jeff Bingaman [D, NM]
Sen. Sherrod Brown [D, OH]
Sen. Maria Cantwell [D, WA]
Sen. Benjamin Cardin [D, MD]
Sen. Robert Casey [D, PA]
Sen. Susan Collins [R, ME]
Sen. Christopher Dodd [D, CT]
Sen. Richard Durbin [D, IL]
Sen. Dianne Feinstein [D, CA]
Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand [D, NY-20]
Sen. Thomas Harkin [D, IA]
Sen. Tim Johnson [D, SD]
Sen. John Kerry [D, MA]
Sen. Amy Klobuchar [D, MN]
Sen. Mary Landrieu [D, LA]
Sen. Frank Lautenberg [D, NJ]
Sen. Patrick Leahy [D, VT]
Sen. Carl Levin [D, MI]
Sen. Joseph Lieberman [I, CT]
Sen. Jeff Merkley [D, OR]
Sen. Barbara Mikulski [D, MD]
Sen. Patty Murray [D, WA]
Sen. Bill Nelson [D, FL]
Sen. Ben Nelson [D, NE]
Sen. John Reed [D, RI]
Sen. Charles Schumer [D, NY]
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen [D, NH]
Sen. Olympia Snowe [R, ME]
Sen. Arlen Specter [D, PA]
Sen. Mark Udall [D, CO]
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse [D, RI]