(Washington, D.C.)  As the clock ticks away the hours before the end of the current session of Congress supporters of a bill adding sexual orientation to hate crimes laws are attempting a hail Mary pass.

With the leadership in the Republican controlled House refusing to bring the bill to the floor for a vote,  Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich) has filed a discharge petition.

A discharge petition is one of the only ways to force congressional leaders to schedule a vote on the measure.  But, to do it, Conyers and the other supporters of the bill require 218 signatures.  

The only successful discharge petition in recent memory was on the issue of campaign finance reform, and it took three years to complete.

"After four sessions of Congress with no progress on this bill, the discharge petition is the only way we can see right now to move this common sense legislation forward," said Human Rights Campaign Political Director Winnie Stachelberg.

"The bill enjoys strong bipartisan support, and we are confident that it would pass the House if it could come up for a vote," Stachelberg said.

But, historically, discharge petitions have been politically risky because of the potential to polarize legislation along party lines.

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