hate crimes

Chukk Nielson, his partner and Nielson's 11-year-old son don't feel safe in their own home. They've been citizens of Ammo, Idaho for the last two years, but rarely enjoy a day in public.

Now the family is threatening to sue the Bonneville County Sheriff's Office because of what Nielson says is lack of concern over ongoing harassment - if things don't change.

Yesterday, Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) took the Senate floor and urged the Senate to pass the Matthew Shepard Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act (S. 1105). Earlier, Senator Harry Read (D-NV) filed a procedural motion to overcome Senator John McCain's (R-AZ) objection to bringing the amendment to the floor for a vote.

Supporters must achieve 60 on the motion this Thursday. If 60 votes are counted, the bill will likely be attached to the Department of Defense authorization bill and move toward passage.

Senator Ted Kennedy is looking for stories about hate crimes to reinforce his argument for passing the Matthew Shepard Act.

According to the FBI, there were 9,000 hate crime victims in 2005. Are you one of them? Do you know one of them?