Factcheck.org has an analysis to address the concern over whether a hate-crime law covering sexual orientation could lead to charges against pastors who preach that homosexuality is a sin. Factcheck.org says no, but Catholic League head Bill Donohue — who has expressed strong reservations about the bill — disputed that analysis in a news release.

Read an Oct. 13, 2009, blog post at “On Faith” by David Waters about the religiously based opposition to the hate-crimes bill.

In June 2009, the Unitarian Universalist Association launched a campaign against hate crimes called “Standing on the Side of Love.” The campaign was a response to a July 27, 2008, attack on the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church that killed two people and wounded seven. The gunman told authorities he was angered by the church’s acceptance of homosexuality […]

The Library of Congress’ online service has information on the House bill, known as H.R. 1913. The Senate bill is S. 909 and can be found here. Govtrack.us followed the path of the bill.

A brutal Oct. 8, 2009, beating in New York City by two attackers left an openly gay man in a coma. The beating was classified as a hate crime; it was caught on a surveillance video and made headlines around the country.  

In addition to the new hate-crimes law, the FBI released its annual report on Hate Crime Statistics. The report detailed hate crimes from 2011. More than 6,222 hate crimes were reported in 2011.

ReligiousTolerance.org has a Web page of hate-crime definitions and existing laws and another on hate-crime laws and sexual orientation. It also has a page dedicated to the question of whether hate-crimes legislation limits free speech.

Partners Against Hate maintains a state-by-state database of hate-crime statistics and hate-crime laws.

The Southern Poverty Law Center has a state-by-state map of identified hate groups. The center says that in 2012 there were 1,007 hate groups operating throughout the United States, an increase of more than 50 percent since 2000.