House committee takes up hate crimes bill

Legislation to add sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of categories covered under federal hate crime law will be taken up today by the House Judiciary Committee.

It is expected the bill will be marked up and be sent to the full House for a vote, possibly before the end of the month.

The bill was introduced with bipartisan support by Reps. John Conyers (D-MI) and Mark Kirk (R-IL). In addition to LGBT rights groups, the bill has the support of more than 300 law enforcement, civil rights, civic and religious organizations.

Gay rights groups have been fighting to have the legislation passed for over a decade.