The struggle for tolerance and acceptance in our society is close to winning a small battle.
The House of Representatives passed an update to the hate crimes law Thursday. If the Senate also passes it, the law will expand significantly to make assault based on sexual orientation a federal crime.
If the bill makes it through the Senate, it would be the first time since its passing in 1968 that the hate crimes bill has been expanded. It's sad that we need legislation like this, but unfortunately, it is necessary.
Speaking of hate crimes, it wasn't long ago that the issue appeared in our community. Five Ball State students were assaulted and called names based on their sexual orientation in May 2008, according to a Daily News article. University Police investigated whether the incident was a hate crime. It was determined not to be.
The Annual Security Report outlining 2008 crime statistics on and off campus, which was released Thursday, reported no hate crimes. The last recorded hate crime was in 2004. This incident isn't representative of the campus, but it shows we still have a problem.
We also have people working toward acceptance. The bill passing through the House comes a few days before the a screening of "The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later," in University Theatre. It is a documentary epilogue to the 2000 play "The Laramie Project." The play was about Matthew Shepard, a Laramie, Wyo. college student who was murdered because he was gay. A vigil for Shepard also will be held Monday evening at University Green.
While this could potentially be a big step for the GLBT community, we should recognize that it could be a big step for universal tolerance and, ultimately, universal acceptance. While some people still may not accept the GLBT community, or any number of other demographics, we are making progress. We have to reach tolerance first.
The fact that this is even an issue tells us we have a long way to go before dispelling any "us and them" or even "us against them" mentalities some people may have toward others of different races, religions, sexual orientations etc. It'll happen. We may not see it in our lives, but, eventually people will learn to love.
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