FBI, Law Enforcement To Recognize LGBT Community

The FBI and U.S. Justice Department will give special recognition to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community during a gathering Thursday night at the federal courthouse in Milwaukee.

The meeting comes as the U.S. Supreme Court is nearing key rulings on marriage equality.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has ordered the Justice Department to formally recognize June’s ongoing status as LGBT Pride Month. The department says it and the FBI continue to investigate and prosecute hate crimes and related violence, including incidents that fall under the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, passed in 2009. The U.S. attorney in Milwaukee, James Santelle, says Thursday’s meeting will also address possible Supreme Court rulings on the Defense of Marriage Act, which declares marriage to be between one man and one woman, and California’s Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage.

“Regardless of what the decisions may be, those will not change the commitment of the U.S. Department of Justice, including my office and the FBI, to enforce the existing law.”

Jason Burns of Equality Wisconsin says the event in Milwaukee follows a pro-LGBT event this week in Washington, D.C., at which Holder and Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin spoke. Burns says it’s unclear how people on different sides of the gay marriage issue will react to the Supreme Court rulings. Burns says already, all is not quiet when it comes to harassment of the LGBT community.

“Two weekends ago was PrideFest [Milwaukee], and the usual protesters were out in front of that, although their numbers were smaller this year than they were the year before.”

Burns predicts the Defense of Marriage Act will be struck down, and that a more middle ground will be taken on California’s same-sex marriage ban.