Federal Hate
Crime Legislation Looms in America
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Traditional Values Coalition Chairman Rev.
Louis P. Sheldon warned, “The so-called
‘hate crimes’ bill, H.R. 1592 begins to lay a foundation for the legal
framework to investigate, prosecute and then persecute people who do not agree
with homosexuality, transgenderism and cross-dressing.”
On April 17, a one-day hearing was held by
the House of Representatives Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and
Homeland Security. According to all reports, the Act is on the fast-track for a
favorable vote at the end of April.
Hillary Clinton announced she was proud to
co-sponsor of the Legislation in the Senate. Groups such as the Anti-Defemation
League, the ACLU, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, the Matthew Shepard
Foundation, and Log Cabin Republicans voiced public support for the Hate Crimes
Act.
A disturbing aspect surrounding the 2007 Hate
Crimes proposals is the fact that the main people I see engaging in public
opposition are Protestants. There is virtually no Catholic voice raising the
alarm in the public forum.
What follows is a collection of statements from various Protestant groups that summarize the dangers
they see in this Act, followed by a Postscript from CFN.
Homosexual/Cross-dressing Bill Hearing Held On
April 17
from Traditional Values Coalition
April
18: TVC held a press conference on Capitol Hill on April 17 to draw attention
to the dangers of H.R. 1592, the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention
Act of 2007.
Joining
Rev. Louis P. Sheldon, Founder and Chairman of the Coalition to discuss their
opposition to the proposed so-called Hate Crimes bill included:
•
Congressman Louie Gohmert (R-Texas), Judiciary Committee Member, former Texas
Chief Justice of the 12th Court of Appeals.
•
Rev. Edwin Melendez, New
•
Kimberly and Ardell Daniels, President of Kimberly Daniels Ministries
International,
•
Marianne Salazar, Legal Counsel, El Rey Jesus,
•
Janet Folger, President of Faith2Action--announced a national television
campaign ‘Hate Grandma’ bill.
“These
people, in the most excellent way, spoke at our morning press conference. Each
made a significant contribution and showed how the so-called ‘hate crimes’
bill, H.R. 1592 begins to lay a foundation for the legal framework to investigate,
prosecute and then persecute people who do not agree with homosexuality,
transgenderism and cross-dressing,” said TVC Chairman Rev. Louis P. Sheldon.
At the press conference on April 16, TVC announced the
release of a symbolic “Wanted” poster today for the arrest of Jesus Christ and
those who follow Him for violating the proposed Hate Crimes law (H.R. 1592).
(see top of this page)
The
House of Representatives Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and
Homeland Security held its hearing on the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes
Prevention Act of 2007, H.R. 1592. Rep. Louis Gohmert (R-TX) served as the
ranking minority member on this committee and gave a masterful presentation
opposing the passage of this dangerous hate crimes bill. Ranking minority
member Randy Forbes (R-VA) was with the
This
so-called hate crimes act is allegedly designed to help local law enforcement
officials deal with bias-related violence, but will actually add “sexual
orientation” and “gender identity” as federally-protected minority groups.
Those testifying in favor of this bill admitted that these will be two new
protected categories of individuals.
Congressman
John Conyers (D-MI) is lead sponsor of H.R. 1592, but during his comments he
seemed to be confused about exactly what was in his bill.
The
hearing, chaired by pro-homosexual liberal Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) was heavily
slanted in favor of the legislation. Only two witnesses out of six gave strong
reasons to oppose H.R. 1592.
Brad
Dacus of the Pacific Justice Institute and Timothy Lynch of the Cato Institute gave
powerful statements against this bill.
Dacus
noted, for example, that hate crimes inevitably are used by homosexuals and
liberal judges to suppress freedom of speech. The 9th Federal Circuit Court has
sided with homosexuals against a high school student in
In
addition, Slavic students in
Dacus
also notes that the Hindu American Foundation is attempting to compare
opposition to Hinduism as “hate speech.” The foundation claims that such hate
speech could provoke a crazed gunman to attack Hindus in their temples!
The
linking of so-called “hate speech” to hate violence is already well underway in
Timothy
Lynch presented sound constitutional reasons to oppose hate crime laws in
general and especially the federalizing of more criminal offenses. He also
suggested that hate crime laws will take American law “too close to the notion
of thought crimes.”
The
Democrats featured the testimony of a young Hispanic man who had been brutally
beaten by skinheads as an example of why the federal government should pass
hate crime legislation. David Ritcheson gave a terrifying account of his brutal
attack and described how many surgeries he endured to repair the damage that
had been done to him.
When
questioned, Ritcheson noted that his attackers had been given life sentences
for their brutal attack on him. No federal hate crime law would have helped
him. State prosecutors and a jury handed out punishment without any
federalizing of hate crimes. Ritcheson’s testimony was actually clear evidence
that criminal attacks on individuals are being adequately dealt with by local
and state officials. H.R. 1592 isn’t needed.
As
noted earlier, the real goal behind H.R. 1592 is to make homosexuals, and
gender-confused individuals (cross-dressers, transvestites, etc.) into
federally-protected “minority” groups. H.R. 1592 will establish a legal
foundation and framework to investigate, prosecute and persecute any person who
publicly opposes the normalization of homosexuality in our culture.
TAKE ACTION: Use CapWiz to your U.S. Representative and ask
that he vote NO on H.R. 1592: http://www.traditionalvalues.org/hc/
Homosexual/Drag Queen Hate Crimes Bill On Fast
Track
From Traditional Values Coalition.
Without your action, this anti-Christian legislation will
pass -- under the guise of hate-crime prevention -- and accomplish the
following homosexual goals:
•
Silence the Bible-believing Churches, Pastors and Christians;
•
Criminalize so-called “hate speech,” – which is any speech that is critical of
homosexuality or cross-dressing behaviors. The suppression of free speech will
be justified by the claim that such speech “incites” individuals to commit
violence against homosexuals, cross-dressers etc. Any remarks about
homosexuality, such as reading Bible passages, preaching on these passages,
telling a person they can come out of the homosexual lifestyle, etc. will be
deemed critical remarks and will be ruled to be outside the bounds of First
Amendment protections for pastors, business owners and individuals.
•
Elevate homosexuality and gender confused individuals such as drag queens;
cross-dressers, she-males, etc. to the status of federally-protected
minorities. These behaviors will be considered equal to race under the federal
law;
•
Interfere with local law enforcement by elevating every alleged incident of “hate”
against a homosexual or cross-dresser into a federal crime;
•
Fund anti-Christian curriculum for children K-12, through the U.S. Departments
of Education and Justice to promote homosexuality and cross-dressing as normal
behaviors.
In addition, HR 1592 makes
false claims that:
•
Homosexuals are fleeing across state lines to avoid persecution;
•
Perpetrators are crossing state lines to commit crimes against them;
•
Homosexuals are so persecuted they have trouble purchasing goods and services
or finding employment.
These
false claims about homosexuals fleeing across state lines are being used as a
hook to justify federal involvement in local law enforcement through the
Interstate Commerce Clause of the Constitution.
FBI
statistics from 2005 (the latest available) reveal that there is no national
epidemic of hate against homosexuals.
There
were only 5,190 hate crimes directed against all persons. Of this figure, only
1,171 were sexual orientation bias crimes.
Out
of 862,947 cases of aggravated assault, only 177 were motivated by sexual orientation
bias. This is 0.000205 percent of all aggravated assaults in 2005.
In
a nation of 300 million, this is no epidemic of hate against homosexuals that
needs federal involvement in local law enforcement.(Source: Tables 2 and 4, FBI
Hate Crime Stats, 2005)
The
passage of H.R. 1592 will be a serious threat to free speech and freedom of
religion. This so-called Hate Crimes Bill begins to lay the legal foundation
and legal framework to persecute and prosecute those who refuse, for moral and
religious reasons, to agree or teach their children that homosexuality,
transgender, cross-dressing etc is normal and desirable.
Ultimately,
a pastor’s sermon concerning homosexuality could be considered an incitement to
violence and punished with a fine or prison.
Hate Crimes Bill is a Fraud on Its Face
Press Release from
Concerned Women of
March
27: Deceptive legislation which would give special privileges and protection to
homosexuals and cross-dressers has been introduced in the House by Rep. John
Conyers (D-Michigan). The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of
2007 (H.R. 1592) is a dangerous bill that would treat homosexuals as a more
valuable class of citizens and threaten the constitutional rights of Americans.
Matt Barber, Concerned Women for America’s
(CWA) Policy Director for Cultural Issues, said, “H.R. 1592 represents a clear
and present danger to our first liberties (freedom of speech, religion and
association). ‘Hate crimes’ laws place us on a slippery slope toward religious
persecution. These laws are already being employed as a tool in
“These laws require law enforcement
authorities to get into the mind of the ‘offender’ and penalize him for his
thoughts. H.R. 1592 elevates one group of Americans above others based on
sexual preferences and other chosen behaviors such as cross-dressing, creating
a special class of victims. All things being equal, it means that if a
5-foot-2-inch grandmother is violently attacked on the street (such as the
highly publicized incident videotaped in New York earlier this month where a
101 year old woman was brutally assaulted) she is less worthy of justice than a
6-foot-4-inch homosexual man who is attacked by the same assailant while
leaving a ‘gay’ bar.
“Reasonably-minded people don’t advocate violence
or harassment of any kind, for anything, against anyone regardless of a
person’s sexual preferences, behaviors, or chosen wardrobe. And there are laws
in place to protect all Americans from both violent crimes and harassment.
Violators of those laws should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, and
there’s no evidence to suggest that they are not. ‘Hate crimes’ laws are
dangerous, extraneous and entirely unnecessary,” concluded Barber.
Conyers’ ‘Hate Grandma’ Bill Introduced in House
By Janet Folger, WorldNetDaily
March 27: (Excerpt) The
West Virginia Office of Civil Rights has organized teams of middle and high
school students and teachers – three students per grade plus one or two faculty
advisors – who are to report harassment, which in their definition includes “homophobic
slurs,” to law enforcement officers.
Throwing the First Amendment by the wayside the manual provides sample
scenarios that illustrate how a “victim” may rightfully feel threatened (which
would constitute a crime) if the alleged perpetrator is perceived as “more
powerful,” has a “hostile tone” of voice, or “stands too close,” etc.
Let’s
say two students get into a disagreement which escalates into a close-standing
hostile-sounding argument. One is a homosexual and one is a Christian who
disagrees with him. Both have done the same thing, but only one is a criminal.
Yeah, that would be the Christian kid. Say the Christian kid happens to be
tall, then he’s got a triple violation going for him because he’s: a “more
powerful,” “close-standing,” “hostile sounding” disagreer with the homosexual
agenda. Call the police! Oh, they will.
The
West Virginia Hate Crimes Task Force uses the National Hate Crimes Training
Curricula in police training centers at selected colleges and universities who
receive grants from the U.S. Department of Justice’s division called COPS,
Community Oriented Policing Services. The federal grants fund faculty and staff
to conduct the “hate crimes” state-based training referred to as Regional
Community Policing Institutes (RCPIs)…
Even
more disturbing are descriptions of typical offenders outlined in the
curricula. Types of bias crime perpetrators for police to watch for include the
“mission” offender. This person “believes he has been instructed by a higher
order (God, the Fuhrer, …)” (p. 20). Of course the belief in God is as suspect
as those who place their beliefs in the Fuhrer – just part of the Government
training already in place. No cause for alarm, this bill would just mandate
these programs nationally.
The
manual also lists “homophobia” as one of the identifying characteristics to
spot “hate groups.” These suspect groups also “include apocalyptic Christianity
in their ideology and believe we are in, or approaching, a period of violence
and social turmoil which will precede the Second Coming of Christ” (p.22). So
if you are a Christian who believes what the Bible has to say about homosexual
behavior you’re a suspect. If you’ve noticed that reading the paper is
strikingly similar to reading the book of Revelation, you are also on a police “most
wanted list” of potential criminals. All to be federally funded with your tax
dollars if H.R. 1592 becomes law.
Last week a police officer called my
radio program and said this agenda was getting so bad, that he and his fellow
Christian officers were about to quit. He said, “This bill will force
Christians out of law enforcement.”
Look,
this is not about prosecuting criminals. State laws already do that. The most
famous “hate crime” suspects in the killing of Matthew Shepard were charged
with first-degree murder and found guilty. Under
I
was accused of Shepard’s murder just for holding to the traditional biblical
view of homosexuality. Didn’t I know that was an illegal thought? In one
interview I was asked: “Well, if you’re not responsible for the murder of
(homosexual) Matthew Shepard, then who is?” My answer was, “How about the
people who actually killed him?” …
And
guess what? Both killers have now confessed that their motive in attacking
Shepard wasn’t any animosity for his sexual behavior, they killed him for…money
for drugs. What do you know? The poster child for “hate crimes” wasn’t even the
victim of one. Funny how that never came up in the 13,500 “Mathew Shepard” news
stories, massive TV coverage, two major
The
bottom line is: all crimes are “hate crimes” – not just those against an “elite
group.” Here’s an idea – how about we punish actions instead of alleged “thoughts?”
And how about we punish them equally no matter who is victimized? Equal
justice. What a concept…
But
it’s not about “crime,” it’s about speech. State “Hate Grandma” legislation has
actually thrown Grandmas in jail for the “crime” of sharing the Gospel on the
public sidewalk in
CFN Postscript:
On Thursday April 19 I spoke with Matt Barber of Concerned Women of America, who was in
Mr.
Barber says the Bush Administration is playing its cards close to its chest,
and it is not clear whether the President would sign the legislation or whether
he would veto it. It would take a tremendous amount of courage for him to veto,
as the proponents of the Bill have purposely designed the campaign as an
emotionally charged issue.
Mr.
Barber further told me the Bill is being rammed through on the flimsiest of
arguments: claiming that the number of homosexuals and cross-dressers having to
cross state lines to flee from harassment is so high that it is having a
deleterious effect on interstate commerce.
Furthermore,
the alleged “protection of free speech” that the Bill’s promoters claim to be
included in the Act is of no worth. Mr. Barber told me that when the hate
crimes legislation was passed in
For current status of Hate
Crime Legislation, go to: www.cfnews.org/cfn.htm
Contact your local bishop and respectfully ask him what he is doing to help derail the Hate Crimes Act. (Please consider sending CFN an account of your conversation with the bishop or the chancery office. Contact cfnjv@localnet.com)
Pray your Rosary! Remember the words of Our Lord: "That kind is only driven out by prayer and fasting". (Mark 9:29).
From the May 2007 edition of
Catholic Family News
MPO Box 743 * Niagara Falls, NY
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905-871-6292 * cfnjv@localnet.com
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