Politics | hate crime Senate Votes to Expand Hate Crime Laws to Gays Five Republicans join in 62-38 vote By Kevin Spak Posted Jul 17, 2009 2:40 PM CDT Copied Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., right, awaits the start of the committee's hearing on hate crimes legislation, Thursday, June 25, 2009, on Capitol Hill. (AP Photo/Harry Hamburg) The Senate has voted to extend hate crime protections to include those attacked because of their gender or sexual orientation, mirroring a similar measure already passed in the House, the Hill reports. Five Republicans, including Olympia Snowe and Dick Lugar, joined all the Democrats present in supporting the bill. Other Republicans opposed the law; Jim DeMint called it “offensive,” saying, “Justice is blind—blind to the superficial circumstances of the victims and the defendants.” Read These Next Home Improvement actor arrested for sixth time in 5 years. Is $136K the new poverty line? An essay goes viral. Are you prepared to drop beaucoup bucks on your scalp? A banquet hall shooting left 4 dead in Stockton, California. Report an error