There is nothing inherently wrong about expanding federal hate crime laws to include more people. Hate crime laws, if they exist, should cover all people, and not just special groups. Of course, if we achieved that goal, then we'd see hate crime laws for what they really are -- an attempt to move criminal trials from the local level, where they belong, to the federal level, and a way to create double-jeopardy for the same crime.

Senate passes hate crimes bill that would extend special status to gays, lesbians - washingtonpost.com

But the more infurating part of this story is that it was an amendment to a military spending bill.  If you're going to put LGBT rights amendments into a military spending bill, shouldn't the first priority be ending the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" ban on gays in the military?

This bill's passage wasn't about extending gay rights.  It was about politics -- expanding federal government power under the Obama administration, while at the same time providing cover for the fact that Obama has yet to do anything for LGBT voters since he got elected.