Gay Rights Agenda: Hate Crimes, Discrimination

Gay Rights Activists Hopeful About New Agenda
Now that the "gay marriage" issue is put on the backburner until the next election and a few more states amend their constitutions to ban it, gay rights organizations (HRC, NGLTF) are focusing on passing the hate crimes bill first, and then trying to get the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) passed later... I'm not sure why the leaders of HRC and NGLTF want to focus on Hate Crimes first, since that issue affects few GLBT people, while employment discrimination is a real threat for most GLBT people, since there is no federal laws protecting GLBT people from it. I have always had mixed feelings about hate crime laws, sure I support the, but I don't see how they do much to stop hate crimes, and they fuel the anti-gay right's accusation that we want "special rights." Why should crimes against certain groups get more severe penalties than others? Hard to argue that issue, and I think there will be more opposition to the hate crime bill than the employment non-discrimination bill--but I could be wrong. I think it may be a mistake for gay rights groups to settle for the hate crime bill, instead of pushing the Democrats in Congress to pass ENDA. Should it be the priority?

It will be good to get the public focus back on discrimination against LGBT people and off of gay marriage for a while...