Justice agency to fight antigay bias (AP)

... Tom Perez, assistant attorney general in charge of Justice's Civil Rights Division, said pending legislation in Congress would let the department attack discrimination against lesbian, gays, bisexuals, and transgender people. The division has historically gone after discrimination based on race, gender, or religion. The development would also be a major shift from the division's work during the Bush administration, which opposed expanding the federal hate-crimes law to prosecute people who attack gays.

Perez told employees yesterday that the division must be transformed "so that we are capable of tackling the civil rights challenges of the 21st century."

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/world_us/20091015_In_the_Nation.html