Democrats proposed a bill that would have added sex, sexual orientation, and disability to the list of characteristics protected by hate crimes legislation. It would also have made it easier for the federal government to assist in the prosecution of hate crimes cases. On most issues, however, debate in the Senate continues until a 3/5 majority votes to end it (also called "cloture"). Democrats were eager to end debate and pass this bill as Republicans threatened to weigh it down with amendments on unrelated issues like cloning and defense. But determined Republican opposition killed the cloture motion by leaving it six shy of the 60 votes needed. The vote was 54- 43 in favor-effectively killing the bill itself.