- Rep. John Conyers is reintroducing the same hate crimes
bill which passed the US House two years ago, I was told yesterday by the
legislative expert for Rep. Jackson-Lee. A representative of the House
Judiciary Committee told me Conyers' bill will be in Judiciary, which he
heads, by Friday. The new title and bill number are not yet disclosed.
Conyers' bill gives much more dangerously invasive power to the federal
government than would have been granted by the shorter, proto-hate bill
HR 256 which has been in House Judiciary since early January. That shorter
bill will now be abandoned.
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- Conyers' bill will give government the right to enter
law enforcement to punish violent hate crimes, punishing "as a principal"
those pastors, writers, talk show hosts, etc. whose public speech incites
violent hate crimes. It will also empower government to intervene to investigate
and punish all non-violent bias crimes against persons or property. The
government can do the same for alleged felonies. Its power will massively
expand, with corresponding loss of states' rights in law enforcement. The
federal government will be able to nullify verdicts in state hate crime
trials; it will force the remaining five US states without hate laws to
submit to its statutes; lastly, it will create a federal hate crimes bureaucracy
to "prevent" hate crimes in America through education and other
means.
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- I warned in my recent article "Pelosi's Hate Bill
Strategy" (<http://www.truthtellers.org/alerts/pelosihatebillstrategy.htm>here
at www.truthtellers.org, March 16, 2009) that arrival of Conyers' bill
was imminent. Rep. Jackson-Lee's streamlined David Ray Hate Crimes Prevention
Act, HR 256, was created largely to test the waters for opposition. For
almost three months, the largest Christian/conservative "watchdog"
groups have not responded with any effective education or protest. A small
but valiant protest has been directed to members of the House Judiciary
Committee, primarily by supporters of the National Prayer Network. But
Conyers and the pro-hate bill Democrats must feel emboldened by the near
silence from the religious right.
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- We may expect the hate bill to move through the House
Judiciary Committee quite rapidly, with hearings perhaps within the month.
The only thing, apart from God's grace, that can stop the expanded hate
bill from victory in the House is renewed protest-especially to House Judiciary
members. <http://www.truthtellers.org/actionplan.html>Their names
are available here at www.truthtellers.org. Call 1-877-851-6437 or toll
202-225-3121 and tell your members of Congress, "Please don't vote
for any hate crime legislation, especially Rep. Conyers' new hate bill
being introduced this week."
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- New Threat: Dept of Peace Bill
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- What of Jackson-Lee's other bill HR 262, which will set
up a federal hate crimes command center and also a reeducation program
in America's public schools? It may be abandoned for the Department of
Peace Act, HR 808, introduced Feb. 3, with 62 co-sponsors. (<http://www.truthtellers.org/alerts/deptofpeacedoesviolence.html>Read
my analysis of this Orwellian legislation at <http://www.truthtellers.org>www.truthtellers.org,
March 20 2007.) Like HR 262, HR 808 would set up an anti-bias federal command
center and re-educate America's young people from kindergarten through
college against the "bias" that allegedly causes hate crimes.
Yet because it intends to be international in scope, it will have massively
greater funding. It asks $10 billion annually, compared to the mere $10
million requested by HR 262. Passage of the Dept. of Peace bill would give
the Anti-Defamation League, its co-originator, vastly greater power to
alienate the next generation against the Christian "homophobia"
that ADL considers a root cause of "hate crimes."
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- The Dept. of Peace bill and the expanded hate bill enjoy
their terrifyingly great chances of passage largely because of the silence
of the religious and conservative right. Why have they done nothing?
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- Possible Strategy of New Right
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- Conservative leaders may have a strategy which explains
their incredible silence and inaction. They know the hate bill threat could
become one tremendous money-maker! When the threat looms large enough,
they can tell their constituents that generous financial support is needed
to save freedom. It's possible that as Conyers' new bill moves rapidly
forward, these groups may get into high gear in a chorus of protest.
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- But they have squandered a strategic opportunity to blunt
the hate bill's trajectory, placing us in enormous jeopardy. With vast
resources and millions of constituents, they might have backed Conyers
down from introducing his much more dangerous hate bill and possibly ascendancy
of the Dept of Peace bill.
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- Grim reality is that Conyers' hate bill is highly favored
to pass both the House and Senate. Even mass protest may not daunt the
pro-hate bill majority, backed by the White House. If conservative leaders
truly did postpone to make money, they betrayed God who commanded the watchman
to sound the alarm the instant he sees the enemy coming, not when he can
make money off the warning! They also betrayed their followers who naïvely
look to them for warning. If for profit they jeopardized freedom, that
dereliction of duty is what the prophet Ezekiel warned would cause the
loss of the watchman's soul. (Ezek. 33:6)
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- Hate Bill Hall of Shame
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- As of Wednesday April 1, 2009, these leadership groups
have given no effective widespread warning or description of the hate bills.
I encourage you to call and ask why.
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- American Family Association. AFA has HR 256 and HR 262
listed on its action page as legislation it opposes, along with S 1105
and HR 254, outdated hate bills from the previous Congress; but it has
produced no upfront timely warnings or calls to action against the hate
bills on its website. Call 662-844-5036.
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- Concerned Women for America. Although CWA featured an
article by Matt Barber in early January describing the hate bills, it has
no alert on its website. CWA continues a long history of doing the bare
minimum to actively warn against pending hate legislation. Call 202-488-7000.
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- American Center for Law and Justice. Bursting with warnings
of the hate law threat from Muslims in the United Nations, ACLJ continues
their historic policy of silence concerning the domestic threat of hate
laws in Congress and the states. Call 800-296-4529.
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- Family Research Council. FRC continues to make veiled
references to "hate crimes legislation" in Congress, even organizing
an online petition against it. (Online petitions are ineffective in opposing
the hate bill but are a great fundraiser, producing tens of thousands of
names and addresses to be repeatedly sold to direct mail companies!) FRC
makes no mention of the names or numbers of the hate bills and does not
give much description of their content. Instead references to this vague
legislative threat are always part of efforts to raise the millions FRC
claims are necessary to defend freedom, defeat the hate bill, and exert
influence "behind the scenes" on Capitol Hill. Call Washington,
D.C. 202-393-2100 or Holland, MI 800-225-4008.
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- Focus on the Family. I was told nearly two months ago
by Focus that they were monitoring both hate bills closely and would soon
come out with an alert. I am still waiting. Call 866-655-4545.
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- Traditional Values Coalition. Like Focus, they told me
they were "watching the hate bills closely." No alerts have been
posted. Call Washington, D.C. 202-547-8570 or California 714-520-0300.
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- Center for Moral Clarity. On their website under Action
Alert-Issues-Current Legislation, CMC have Jackson-Lee's two-year-old HR
254 as current legislation to be opposed. Incredibly, CMC has removed the
previous alerts against HR 256 and HR 262 from another section of their
website! Call 614-837-1990, ext. 183 and ask for the Center for Moral Clarity.
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- Alliance Defense Fund. Nothing. Call 800-TELL ADF.
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- Liberty Counsel. Nothing. Call 800-671-1776.
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- Christian Coalition. Nothing. Call 202-479-6900.
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