The "Matthew Shepard" Law

Yesterday Congress passed the "Matthew Shepard... Act" which makes crimes against people simply because they are homosexual a hate crime. Taken at face value, this would seem reasonable to the common person since violence against someone is clearly wrong. What needs to be understood though is what the purpose and goals of the Congress were in passing this act.

Let's look at a fictional scenario and take a quiz. Joe Smith has a classmate who is a homosexual named Tom Johnson. Joe finds this disgusting and goes out and kills Tom. This occurs before the "Matthew Shepard Act" takes effect. What do we have here?
a) Joe gets away Scot free because the government did nothing to prevent the rights of homosexuals.
OR
b) Murder

The answer for everyone outside of the Bay Area is b) Murder. There is no reason Joe would not be prosecuted for Tom's murder unless there was absolutely no evidence or statements to tie him to the crime.

So why do we need this anti-hate crime law? Simple, so the Democratic Party will be seen as the ally of homosexuals and lesbians just as they are viewed as allies of other minorities. It is disingenuous of the Democratic Party to create legislation that is not needed, only to proclaim to the country how vital it is to protect the "rights" and lives of homosexuals or other minorities, simply to increase or retain their power status.