People For the American Way issued this statement in response to the removal of the Matthew Shepard Act from the Department of Defense authorization bill:

The cause to prevent gay and lesbian Americans from being targeted for intimidation and violence suffered a stunning blow yesterday when the Matthew Shepard Act was dropped from the defense authorization bill.

People For is dismayed and saddened by Congress’s failure to pass the measure this term and will continue to pressure Capitol Hill to expand existing hate crimes laws so that members of the LGBT community will no longer be left without protections from hate-fueled violence.