Congress drops hate crime bill covering attacks on gays

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Congress has dropped legislation that would have expanded hate crime laws to include attacks on gays after it became clear the measure wouldn't pass the House, aides said Thursday
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Edward Kennedy?, was widely supported by Democrats and even some moderate Senate Republicans. But because it was attached to a major defense policy bill that would have authorized more money for the Iraq war, many anti-war Democrats said they would oppose it.
"We don't have the votes," said one House Democratic aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity because conference negotiations on the defense bill were ongoing. "We're about 40 votes short, not four or six."
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/12/06/congress.hatecrimes.ap/index.html