Senate votes 60-39 for cloture on hate crimes legislation; voice vote adds Kennedy-Smith hate crimes amendment to Department of Defense authorization

via HRC

Chris Johnson

BREAKING NEWS: We just won the Senate cloture vote on the hate crimes legislation, 60-39. Seconds later, the Senate voted by voice vote to add the Kennedy-Smith hate crimes amendment to the Department of Defense authorization bill.

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UPDATE:

Joe Solmonese just released a statement on the hate crimes bill:

For over a decade our community has worked tirelessly to ensure protections to combat violence motivated by hate and today we are the closest we have ever been to seeing that become a reality. Congress has taken an historic step forward and moved our country closer to the realization that all Americans, including the GLBT community, are part of the fabric of our nation. The new leadership in Congress fully understands that for too long our community has been terrorized by hate violence. And today, the US Senate has sent a clear message to every corner of our country that we will no longer turn a blind eye to anti-gay violence in America.