Late yesterday the Senate overwhelming passed the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act by a margin of 63-28, despite objections from many Republicans, including former presidential nominee Senator John McCain. The legislation passed as an amendment to what many consider a must-pass Department of Defense authorization bill. And therein lies the rub. While President Obama supports hate crimes legislation, he may veto the bill because of wasteful spending.

…Obama has told Congress he will veto the defense bill if it includes more money for an F-22 fighter program he is trying to terminate. The House in April passed a similar hate crimes bill, but did it as independent legislation not tied to a larger bill.

Five Republicans voted for it, zero Democrats voted against it.  Full roll call of vote courtesy of Tips-Q:

Intellectual giants Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) and Mary Landrieu (D-LA) have introduced the Human-Animal Hybrid Protection Act of 2009 to stem the growing market for centaurs, harpies, satyrs, mermaids and other animal-human hybrid freaks.

“This legislation works to ensure that our society recognizes the dignity and sacredness of human life,” said Brownback. “Creating human-animal hybrids, which permanently alter the genetic makeup of an organism, will challenge the very definition of what it means to be human and is a violation of human dignity and a grave injustice.”

This important piece of legislation is co-sponsored by nearly 20 other like-minded individuals who refuse to blur the lines between man and beast, and should be the Senate’s top priority. Prohibiting mad scientists from creating man-beasts is so much more important than health care or any of those other trifles the Senate is currently debating.

Give me a break. Granted there is some legitimate research going on in Britain, but it is not as the bible-thumping conservatives would present it.