IT’S ON: Right-wing launches attack against federal hate crimes bill
April 2, 2009
HERE WE GO: Looks like the right wingers are already dusting off their playbooks to again launch a full-scale attack of lies against the hate crimes bill. The same week that HRC launches its FightHate website, one of the main anti-LGBT right wing groups get its members all riled up over our efforts to help Congress pass legislation to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people from being killed and brutalized by hate violence. Gosh, how could we be so evil? On Tuesday, Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, issued an action alert that rebroadcasted the lies and hysteria we're well used to hearing that warned their supporters to "Stop President Obama's Agenda to Silence Your Beliefs:"
Many members of Congress are simply unaware of how dangerous the proposed "hate crimes" law is. FRC Action will warn them that this could lead to simple expressions of religious faith-including sermons and radio broadcasts-being prosecuted as "hate." Our nation is at a danger point. In 2007, such a "hate crimes" bill actually passed the House (HR 1592) and the Senate (SB 1105)-but died when President Bush threatened a veto. Now, President Obama has made passing the Hate Crimes law a top priority. A "hate crimes" law is really a "thought crime" law that punishes a person's beliefs-part of the Left's intolerant agenda to silence the voice of Christians and Conservatives in America and eliminate moral restraint. How would it happen? A federal "hate crimes" law prohibiting "bodily injury" could be construed by many law enforcement officials and judges to include words that inflict emotional or psychological distress. That means an "offended" homosexual could accuse a religious broadcaster . . . a pastor . . . Sunday School teacher . . . or other individual of causing emotional injury simply by expressing the biblical view that homosexual behavior is morally wrong and unhealthy. That's all it could take to trigger a wave of federal prosecutions and begin an era of censorship like America has never seen!
You have to admit that Tony Perkins has a certain flair for being dramatic. Perkins and his clan of right wingers will certainly do everything in their power to stop the hate crimes bill - and they've proven in the past that they're not above outright lying to get their way. That's one reason why Perkins has been named one of the "Voices of Fear" at EndTheLies.org.
[/caption]We know the Perkins clan will be in overdrive. But we're ready for them. They know their days of controlling the agenda are over. OVER. So, we can expect hysterics like we've never seen (and we've seen a lot). We worked hard during the 2008 elections to help change the makeup of Congress and we've got a fair-minded president in the White House. And all the right wingers have is a slipping ability to scare people. Stand up against hate and go to www.hrc.org/FightHate to send a message to Congress in support of the federal hate crimes bill.
