Orrin Hatch: “everybody here knows I have worked hard to pass the hate crime statistics bill, I worked hard with the distinguished…”

“everybody here knows I have worked hard to pass the hate crime statistics bill, I worked hard with the distinguished Senator from Massachusetts to pass AIDS bills and do other things that benefit people who are gay and lesbians. I believe that we should respond to the needs of our citizens in these regards. Special protected status in the law, however, is another matter. I, therefore, oppose this legislation. Mr. President, I oppose this legislation. This bill represents a massive increase in Federal power. The Federal bureaucracy will have a field day with this bill. The bill will be a litigation bonanza. Moreover, this bill deals in a blunderbuss way with an issue much more complex than issues raised by legislation addressing race, ethnicity, and gender. Sexual orientation involves conduct, not immutable nonbehavioral characteristics. Indeed, during the debate about homosexuals in the military, Gen. Colin Powell made this point in responding to the suggestion that discrimination against homosexuals in the military should be equated with racial discrimination. He said, Skin color is a benign, non-behavioral characteristic. Sexual orientation is perhaps the most profound of human behavioral characteristics. Comparison of the two is a convenient but invalid argument. Indeed, this very bill exempts employment in the U.S. military, although it does not exempt the National Guard.”