- In the past month, unprecedented attention has been given
to hate crime laws-it's about time! Conservatives and, surprisingly, some
liberals have railed against hate laws in general and the "Pedophile
Protection Act" in particular. They're a wee bit late-the bill already
passed the House-but the breaking of this epically under-reported story
is worth a roll call.
-
- Four of the eight members of the US Civil Rights Commission
have publicly urged Congress <http://www.marylandthursdaymeeting.com/Archives/
- SpecialWebDocuments2009/Civil_Rights_Comm._Ltr-1.pdf>in
an open letter not to pass the hate crimes bill. Their letter makes the
well-known complaint about "the broad federalization of crime as a
menace to civil liberties." The commissioners also point out a less-known
threat: This bill violates "double jeopardy" protections (which
say a person can't be tried twice for the same crime). The hate bill allows
"federal authorities to re-prosecute a broad category of defendants
who have already been acquitted by state juries-as in the Rodney King and
Crown Heights cases more than a decade ago." The retroactive nature
of this bill is certainly a scary implication.
-
- Jewish civil liberties defender Nat Hentoff also brought
up double jeopardy <http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=10188
- http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=10188>in
an article against hate crime laws for the Cato Institute. He explained
in <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TF2bBsKCBhA>this 6-minute Cato
video that this "dreadful legislation" is "really dangerous
stuff" that violates the Constitution's First Amendment (free speech),
Fourteenth Amendment (equal protection of all), and double jeopardy.
-
- Hentoff says he has covered hate crime laws for about
twelve years and that they should truly be described as "thought crime"
laws. "People can get more time in prison for what somebody said they
said that might be taken as evidence," Hentoff explains, also describing
how a person's past statements or consumption of certain books or newspapers
will be used as evidence against them-bringing their thought lives into
court. "We are on the edge again of having a thought crimes bill turned
into law which will now go to the Supreme Court I hope, and if I can say
this, I pray that the First Amendment will be restored."
-
- One of the most surprising critics of S. 909, the Senate
version of the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act, is homosexual
political commentator Andrew Sullivan. Ranked by Forbes as one of "25
Most Influential Liberals in Media," Sullivan was described as viewing
"virtually everything through a "gay" prism." Nevertheless,
Sullivan <http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2009/05/intent-vs-motivation.html>came
out in The Atlantic to oppose the hate crimes bill. He proclaims it's absolutely
unnecessary for criminal justice and is a "money-making tool"
for homosexual activists.
-
- Others say worse. A <http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/apr/30/thought-crimes/>hearty
Washington Times editorial says plainly that hate laws "punish people
for what they think." House Minority Leader John Boehner, Ohio Republican,
told their editors the hate crimes bill makes him "want to throw up."
The Boston Globe <http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/
- articles/2009/05/17/are_hate_crimes_any_worse_than_others/>also
ran a column against hate crime laws. Economist and prominent columnist
<http://www.vdare.com/roberts/090508_hate_crime.htm>Paul Craig Roberts
wrote incisively about how this legislation will be expanded to shatter
freedom of speech. He says, "An eventual likely outcome will be that
speaking against members of specially protected classes will itself become
a violent act of inciting violence." Townhall.com and Human Events
published a sage column about hate crime laws by David Limbaugh. He is
the author of Persecution: How Liberals are Waging War against Christianity.
Limbaugh <http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=31636>writes
so truly, "Far too many people, including certain well-meaning Christians
laboring under the belief that Christians must eschew politics, are failing
to stand up to this intimidation. This failure could eventually lead to
the unintended consequence of their loss of the very freedom to evangelize."
Actor and conservative activist <http://www.creators.com/opinion/chuck-norris/outlawing-opinion.html>Chuck
Norris also wrote about the hate laws' dangers.
-
- There is the negative press as well, which demonstrates
how loud this protest has become. Politifact.com-a Pulitzer Prize-winning
site of the St. Petersburg Times-drew attention to the "Pedophile
Protection Act" by <http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2009/may/14/
- steve-king/rep-steve-king-claims-federal-hate-crime-law-would/>calling
that characterization a "Pants on Fire" lie. Crooks and Liars
<http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/hannity-lies-about-hate-crimes-bill>also
tried to call out Sean Hannity for his opposition to the bill, calling
him (what else?) a liar for repeating that the bill would protect pedophiles.
Hannity isn't the only one. Many public figures have shared this truth-that
hate laws protect deviants while exposing Christians to prosecution for
speech.
-
- In <http://www.citizenlink.org/CLtopstories/A000009958.cfm>a
sober video message, Dr. James Dobson warns, "I'm convinced that if
God's people do not seek His blessing and mercy, the Church will be tested
severely, as if by fire, over the coming weeks and years." He then
describes the hate crimes bill and its non-protections of Christians. He
even fleetingly mentioned the Anti-Defamation League and "various
Jewish groups" who welcomed denial of Rep. Steve King's amendment
to exclude pedophiles!
-
- How many people have the courage to actually detail the
ADL's role as creator of this evil legislation? Very few. Evolutionary
psychologist <http://vdare.com/macdonald/090511_hate_crimes_prevention_bill.htm>Prof.
Kevin MacDonald was one. And, of course, the ADL itself.
-
- On May 13, ADL joined the Human Rights Campaign, the
NAACP and others to demand that the federal government interfere in the
prosecution of a 2008 murder of an immigrant. At their press conference,
ADL also urged passage of S. 909. While conservatives shipped boxes of
identical form letters to Washington to protest the bill, ADL and others
showed up in person to demand its passage.
-
- Opponents to the hate bill may feel swamped and over-taxed
by various assaults on liberty and conservative values flooding from the
Democrat majority. But they should be assured: No other issue is as pressing.
Without freedom of speech, we can't fight any other battles.
-
- It's a good thing the hate bill story has broken out.
But we also need far more decisive calls to action. If you love freedom,
then pick up your phone and call the Senate.
-
- Call all Senators, 1-877-851-6437 toll free and 1-202-225-3121,
available on the action page of <http://www.truthtellers.org>www.truthtellers.org.
Especially call the <http://www.truthtellers.org/actionplan.html>19
members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Give this message: "Please
don't vote for the pedophile-protecting hate bill S. 909. If the Senator
does, my friends and I will never forgive or forget!"
-
- Also, encourage staffers to watch the alarming 9-minute
video on the home page of <http://www.truthtellers.org/>www.truthtellers.org,
"Stop the Pedophile-Protecting Hate Bill!"
-
-
-
- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-
-
- Harmony Grant is a writer for National Prayer Network.
To greater understand the illogic behind hate laws, read her article "<http://www.truthtellers.org/alerts/11reasons.html>Top
Eleven Reasons You Should Fight Hate Laws."
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