They also said they were confident the measure eventually would pass. The James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Act, which would have strengthened Texas' hate crimes law, died last Friday after lawmakers could not come up with a deal in time to meet a midnight deadline to pass it out of a Senate committee. The stalemate spared Bush from having to decide whether to sign the bill. The Republican governor had refused to say how he would handle the legislation, although he said stiff sentences are warranted for all crimes regardless of the motivation. Bush also had pointed out that Texas already has a hate crimes law on the books.
Critics say that measure is too vague to enforce.
There's a time and place for everything. That's what my dad used to tell me. There's a time for peace and a time for war. And one day there will be a time to pass this bill. I was there and I experienced that.