By The Editors

President Obama is widely expected to sign historic legislation expanding federal hate crime laws to cover attacks against gay men and lesbians.

The U.S. Senate approved the legislation, The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, on Thursday by a vote of 68 to 29. The House passed a similar measure earlier this month by a large margin as well.

Current federal hate crimes law covers attacks based on race, color, religion or national origin. The new measure allocates $5 million annually to the Justice Department to enable it to aid local government officials in investigating and prosecuting hate crimes. It also includes a potential higher level of criminal penalties for attacks against disabled individuals and those in the military who are attacked because of their military service.

Senator Patrick Leahy, (D-Vt.), the Senate measure’s chief sponsor, said in a statement released by his office that he was “proud that Congress has come together to show that violence against members of any group because of who they are will not be tolerated in this country.”

The Human Rights Campaign and other gay rights and civil rights groups praised the Senate action as both advancing the legal protections afforded gay people and expanding the boundaries of tolerance in general.