Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act signed into law

President Barack Obama signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act on October 28, 2009, as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2010. The law created 18 U.S.C. § 249, which for the first time gave federal prosecutors authority to investigate and prosecute violence motivated by a victim's actual or perceived religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability — without requiring any connection to a federally protected activity. Before 2009, federal hate crime law required prosecutors to prove the victim was engaged in a federally protected activity such as voting or attending school, making prosecution of religiously motivated attacks difficult. The act also authorized DOJ grants to state and local governments to improve hate crime reporting and prosecution capacity.