Washington D.C. -

U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Holland, today voted against a Department of Defense authorization bill because it needlessly included the federal criminalization of specified “hate crimes.”

“I continue to strongly support the men and women in the Armed Forces, which is I why I voted against using them as a tool to pass a federal ‘hate crimes’ bill,” Hoekstra said. “Hate crimes are a completely different issue that deserves an up-or-down vote on its own.”

Hoekstra voted against a federal hate crimes bill earlier this year because it criminalizes thoughts and motivations as opposed to actions, creating a politically favored class of victims. He said that every American should be protected against crime under the law regardless of the reasons for committing them.

“I don’t agree with exploiting the U.S. military to implement a massive overreach of the federal government,” Hoekstra said. “Hate crimes have nothing to do with national defense and should be completely eliminated from the bill that the House passed.”