On April 25, President Clinton announced a renewed effort to expand current hate crime laws to include crimes committed based on the victim's sexual orientation, gender or disability. These additions would enhance the law already on the books, which only prohibits crimes motivated by the victim's race or religion. Clinton tried to push expanded hate crime legislation through Congress in 1999, after the highly publicized murder of Wyoming college student Matthew Shepard, who was killed because his attackers were offended by his homosexuality, but the bill died in committee. Shepard's killers were ultimately convicted and sentenced to life in prison, even though Wyoming's hate crime law does not protect homosexuals.

The president's proposed hate crime bill would also loosen the requirements for the government to prosecute a crime under federal hate crime laws. Under current law, a criminal can be charged with a federal hate crime only if the crime took place while the victim was participating in certain "federally protected" activities, which range from walking down a public street to voting. Removing these restrictions would allow federal prosecutors more leeway to step into a case that is not being adequately addressed under state laws.

On One Hand...

When a homosexual is a victim of a violent crime, often it is because of his or her sexual orientation. Such crimes, motivated by intolerance, are not like other violent crimes, and they deserve to be addressed by federal law.

Crimes against gays are not always taken seriously, because law-enforcement officers, like some members of society, are often unsympathetic (if not downright hostile) to gays due to their own homophobia. Adding sexual orientation to the language of federal hate crime laws would ensure that homosexual victims would have an additional recourse if state or local authorities cannot?or choose not to-- adequately prosecute a crime.

On the Other Hand...

Every violent crime should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, regardless of what motivated the perpetrator of the crime. This can and should be done under existing civil rights laws.

Allowing homosexuals protection under federal hate crime laws gives them special consideration that is not warranted. No crime victim is more important than any other crime victim. President Clinton's attempt to expand hate crime laws to include sexual orientation is just political posturing, as studies show that hate crime laws do not prevent bias crime.

• Police stations aren't necessarily safe havens for gays: Reported attacks by officers against homosexuals in police facilities increased by 76 percent nationwide in 1997, according to one survey.

• The most dangerous month for homosexuals, statistically speaking, tends to be June, a month when hundreds of gay pride parades and festivals are held across the country.

• The FBI's Uniform Crime Reports for 1997 show that almost 14 percent of all hate crimes occur because of the victim's sexual orientation. This is the third largest category reported, with race making up about 59 percent of all reported hate crimes, and religion comprising about 17 percent.

• In 1991, hate crimes based on sexual orientation comprised only 8.9 percent of reported hate crimes. (HRC)

Christian Science Monitor, Human Rights Campaign