Matthew Shepard Act | What's to Hate, Mr. Sessions? (Pt. 2)

But Jeff Sessions has problems with this

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Michelle Garcia reports for Advocate.com that Sen. Sessions has attempted to attach three amendments to the Matthew Shepard Act that effectively “limit the extension of the federal hate-crimes law” that the Senate has passed. He even took it upon himself to speak on why current hate crime laws shouldn’t include safeguards for gender identity and sexual orientation. Sessions is the ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee. The Matthew Shepard Act has passed Congress, but Sessions’ amendments are attached so that President Obama will see them when he decides whether or not to give the bill his signature.

According to Joe Openshaw, an Examiner.com Birmingham Gay Community reporter, “these amendments are unnecessary and are designed to diminish support for the bill.”

What are Sessions’ arguments?

His first amendment opens the floodgates for the death penalty to be applied as punishment for hate crimes in some instances. This hot button could be a huge problem that prevents the Matthew Shepard Act bill’s approval in its current form. Openshaw recognizes the irony of the fact that “the very Senators who have falsely argued that this bill would put clergy in jail because of their beliefs think that those same clergy should be subject to the death penalty.” It comes across as an intentional deal-breaker, thanks to a group of Republican senators which Sessions represents. ... click here to read the rest of the article titled "Matthew Shepard Act | What's to Hate, Mr. Sessions? (Pt. 2)"