From staff and wire services

In the East Room of the White House Oct. 28, President Obama signed into law a measure signaling a major civil rights change. It is now it a federal hate crime to assault a person based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.

In order to make passage of The Matthew Shepard/James Bryd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act more likely, it was attached to a $680 billion defense bill that was passed by both the House and the Senate in October. Obama has long said that he supported hate crimes legislation for GLBTs and had been expected to sign.

Going forward, Obama promised, people will be protected from violence based on “what they look like, who they love, how they pray or why they are.”

The civil rights protections had long been a priority for the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.). The President today paid tribute both to Kennedy family members and Shepard’s mother, Judy, at the signing.

“This law honors our lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender brothers and sisters whose lives were cut short because of hate,” said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese in a statement. “Today’s signing of the first major piece of civil rights legislation to protect LGBT Americans represents a historic milestone in the inevitable march towards equality. … After more than a decade of advocacy, local police and sheriffs’ departments now have the full resources of the Justice Department available to them.”

“Every day transgender people live with the reality and the threat of personal violence, simply because of who they are,” said Mara Keisling, exec. dir. of the National Center for Transgender Equality. “…The new law provides for some vital first steps in preventing these terrible crimes as well as addressing them when they occur.” 

While clearly pleased by Wednesday’s signing ceremony, which was attended by many members of Congress who came to witness the fruits of a decade of effort, Rea Carey, exec. dir. of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, said there is still a lot of work to be done.

“We look forward to the days ahead when we will join together again to celebrate full equality and recognition of our community, including in employment, the military and in the full recognition of our families,” Carey said.

The expanded law now also covers crimes motivated by gender identity or disability.

“No one in America should ever be afraid to walk down the street holding the hands of the person they love. No one in America should be forced to look over their shoulder because of who they are or because they live with a disability,” Obama said.