The state Senate has passed a bill that would extend the state's hate-crime law to protect transgender individuals. The bill, which passed Tuesday night with a 36-12 vote, is sponsored by Sen. Joe McDermott.

The hate-crime law currently covers crimes against people based on gender, race, religion, sexual orientation or disability, but sexual orientation specifically refers only to heterosexuality, homosexuality, or bisexuality.

Malicious harassment is a class c felony punishable by up to 5 years in prison.

Seattle police spokesman Mark Jamieson said the department already uses the state's hate crime law in certain cases where the victim is transgender. Jamieson didn't have statistics about how many malicious harassment cases involving transgender individuals were investigated in the past year.

The FBI reported in 2007, that 15.9 percent of hate-crime victims nationwide were targeted because of their sexual orientation. That same year, 39 people in Washington state were targeted because of their sexual orientation.

The Washington Student Lobby, Equal Rights Washington and Washington
Transgender Equality Project support the measure. No opposition testified at the hearing last month.

More information on Senate Bill 5952 can be found here.