Last week President Barack Obama signed into law a bill that expands federal hate-crime protection to include violent crimes committed on the basis of a victim’s sexual orientation. The definition of hate crime under existing legislation had only included crimes perpetrated because of a victim’s race, color, religion, or national origin. The passage of the hate-crimes law, named in honor of Matthew Shepard, a gay college student from Wyoming who was brutally murdered 11 years ago, was a long-overdue addition to a valuable set of protective laws.

By expanding its scope, Obama affirmed the continued need for hate-crime legislation. A hate crime should be treated distinctly from other offenses because of the particularly heinous nature of the act and because of its far-reaching implications. Perpetrators of hate crimes do not merely harm their victims—they inflict tremendous pain on the victim’s entire community. Hate crime generates feelings of fear and dismay that impact the lives of many more people than are directly affected by the crime itself. Unlike other crimes, a violent act committed against someone because of his race or religion carries the implicit threat of violence against others who share that characteristic.

Hate-crime legislation grew out of a long history of racial violence in America, during which violence was used as a way to intimidate and oppress African-Americans. Vicious crimes such as lynchings and beatings were intended to make the members of an entire racial group feel unwelcome and unsafe. The development of hate-crime legislation, beginning with the 1969 Federal Hate Crimes Law, became an important way to both discourage such acts and diminish the culture of prejudice and discrimination that often implicitly condoned them. The new hate-crimes law is an admirable continuation of efforts to curb bias-driven attacks.

Moreover, the law does not only guide the behavior of citizens—it is also a reflection of societal values. Holding hate crimes to special standards makes an important statement against the gross intolerance that motivates these violent acts. It says that crimes driven by racism, religious bigotry, and now homophobia have no place in our society.

Given the importance of hate-crime legislation, the extension of hate-crime protection to include another vulnerable group is a positive step forward. Attacks on individuals explicitly based on their sexual orientation or gender identity have been well documented for some time now but were not legally recognized as a special class of crimes. It is only fair for the government to finally afford gays and lesbians the same legal protections that safeguard members of other frequently targeted groups.

Above all, the passage of the hate-crimes law is essential to ensuring that all citizens feel protected under the law and that none should fear for their safety due to the color of their skin, the nature of their beliefs, or the gender of the person they love.