A federal hate crimes bill with explicit protections against crimes based on gender identity and sexual orientation was introduced in the House of Representatives yesterday.

Joe Solmonese, President of the Human Rights Campaign exclaimed that, "We’re proud that for the first time legislation was introduced that explicitly covers the entire gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community, and the community will have an unambiguous shot at equal protection under hate crimes law."

While the bill is not expected to the pass, it's notable that (given our scary political climate) it made it through the door at all.

Kudos to -- Reps. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.), Christopher Shays (R-Conn.), and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) for introducing the bill.