Some Are More Equal Than Others

I mentioned a couple of weeks back how the ACLU's concern about double jeopardy had formerly caused them to be skeptical of federal "hate crime" laws--but now that sexual orientation is in a new federal bill...well, that changes everything. Now the Washington Post is joining in:

Because if it passes the Senate, which could vote on it next month, and gets past a threatened presidential veto, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity and disability would join race, religion and national origin as protected classes under the 1969 federal hate-crimes law.This bill has been rattling around Congress in one form or another for nearly 10 years. As time passed, it evolved and incorporated good ideas from both sides of the aisle. And while we have long opposed the inclusion of gender and disability, we believe the bill is worthy of support overall.

So it isn't just the liberal tendency to want to federalize everything. Nor is it a matter of adding sexual orientation to a list of characteristics that liberals think need protection. This Washington Post editorial admits that they "have long opposed the inclusion of gender and disability." It's all about homosexuality--and they are more deserving of federal protection than "gender and disability."