The vandalism prompted a hate crime bill debate in the Texas Senate. Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, asked lawmakers to set politics aside and find a solution fast. Only 25 days remain in the session. He said the bill's inclusion of homosexuals as a protected class is not an endorsement of homosexual lifestyle, which is a different debate. Members, hate has no compromise.
Hate is hate.
The bill has passed the House and is one vote away from the 21 needed to bring it to a formal debate in the Senate. Unless well-entrenched stances change, Thursday's speeches could be the closest the full Senate comes to debating hate crimes this session. Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, unleashed his anger at Gov. Rick Perry, whom he accused of working behind the scenes against the bill. Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk and state Rep. Helen Giddings, D-Dallas, are members of St. Luke's Community United Methodist Church, which was defaced by the swastikas and racial slurs before dawn Thursday. He said his Republican colleague Sen. Florence Shapiro of Plano has serious reservations even though she was a victim of hate during a 1992 campaign.