Legislation to expand and strengthen Pennsylvania's anti-hate crimes statutes won bipartisan passage out of the Pennsylvania House on Oct. 31, putting Pennsylvania on track to take action amid a nationwide spike in criminal activity fueled by hatred.

State Reps. Dan Frankel, D-Allegheny, and Napoleon Nelson, D-Montgomery, sponsors of the bill package, called on the Senate to act quickly to signal to all vulnerable groups that Pennsylvania's state government stands with them.