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‘Hate crimes’ bill passed by House could threaten religious freedoms, critics warn
cna ^ | October 10, 2009

Posted on 10/10/2009 6:36:03 AM PDT by NYer

Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.)

Washington D.C., Oct 10, 2009 / 07:55 am (CNA).- Following the U.S. House’s passage of hate crimes legislation attached to a military spending bill, critics have argued its provisions create “special rights” based on sexual behavior and could threaten religious freedom. They further charged that the provisions’ backers used the military as a “political tool” to achieve their goals.

The bill authorized $680 billion for the Defense Department, the Washington Post reports. It also contained a provision that would broaden the definition of federal hate crimes to include attacks based on gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability.

The legislation also created a new federal crime to cover attacks against U.S. military personnel because of their service.

A reported 281 congressmen voted in favor of the bill, with 146 opposed. Fifteen Democrats and 131 Republicans opposed the bill, which now pass the Senate before it is sent to President Barack Obama’s desk for his signature.

Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, charged in a Thursday statement that the hate crimes legislation was a “thought-crimes bill” that creates “special protection for a particular group” in violation of the principle of equal justice under the law.

“This measure is about giving special rights based solely on sexual behavior,” Perkins commented, praising congressmen who voted against the bill.

“All of our citizens deserve equal justice under the law. Do we somehow care less about victims violently assaulted in the act of robbery or during a personal dispute than we do about those assaulted because they belong in a federally designated, politically motivated category?”

Perkins also warned that the legislation may cause “serious infringements” of free speech rights.

“'Hate crime' legislation will lay the legal foundation and framework for investigating, prosecuting and persecuting pastors, business owners, and anyone else whose actions reflect their faith," he added.

Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) in a Thursday statement criticized the legislation before it was passed by the House.

He charged that it treated U.S. military as a “political tool” and as “pack mules” to carry “a despicable and unconstitutional bill that penalizes thought and places a premium on some classes of individuals over others.”

“No American should be more protected from violent crime than another. All violent crimes demonstrate hate and all should be fully prosecuted,” Rep. Price added. “Justice should be blind, but Democrats have rejected the credo of our Founders that all people are created equal. This legislation will eventually invite the prosecution of Americans for their thoughts and religious beliefs, basic provinces protected by the First Amendment.”


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Government; Philosophy; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 111th; catholic; hatecrimes; homosexualagenda; pcpolice
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1 posted on 10/10/2009 6:36:03 AM PDT by NYer
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To: Salvation; narses; SMEDLEYBUTLER; redhead; Notwithstanding; nickcarraway; Romulus; ...
Catholic Ping
Please freepmail me if you want on/off this list


2 posted on 10/10/2009 6:36:35 AM PDT by NYer ( "One Who Prays Is Not Afraid; One Who Prays Is Never Alone"- Benedict XVI)
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To: NYer
I wonder what the government will do to enforce this law. Eliminate Leviticus and parts of the New Testament from future Bibles?

When the Lord comes back, it won't be pretty.

5.56mm

3 posted on 10/10/2009 6:41:42 AM PDT by M Kehoe
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To: NYer
This is how they will get the Tea Party Protesters.
4 posted on 10/10/2009 6:41:50 AM PDT by DHSMostWanted (Where's my Nobel Peace Prize?)
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To: NYer

So much for the freedom of religion as gauranteed by our Christian forefathers for a religious people,Jews and Christians specifically, that they might follow the Word of God and not be victimized by the evil powers of godless governments that are prevalent worldwide.
The leftist communists and the rino right secular humanist athiests are destroying our freedoms that God only gives.
The Lord God of Israel shall destoy them in the years to come for thier hatred of God and Christ and His saints, sinners saved by the Lord Jesus Christ who know Him and are loved by Him.
The Wicked are like the troubled sea, always casting up dirt and mire.
The Wicked forsake their own mercy.
Come, Lord Jesus, rule and reign over all thine enemies.


5 posted on 10/10/2009 6:42:59 AM PDT by kindred (Facts are a stubborn thing, but people are even more stubborn and will deny facts.)
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To: M Kehoe
Eliminate Leviticus and parts of the New Testament from future Bibles?

No, just eliminate the Bibles. (And anybody who tries to keep one.)

Newsflash: it's been tried before.

6 posted on 10/10/2009 6:47:19 AM PDT by thulldud (It HAS happened here!)
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To: NYer

The left wants to make this a only a religious and specifically a Christian issue. It isn’t.


7 posted on 10/10/2009 6:47:59 AM PDT by Brugmansian
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To: NYer

The Democrats have set themselves up for a future when they’ll have to pass a law that provides for “special identification” for homosexuals, cross-dressers and pedophiles ~ maybe a PURPLE “F” ~ so that all the rest of us have fair warning about the person we are about to beat and rob.


8 posted on 10/10/2009 6:49:28 AM PDT by muawiyah
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To: thulldud
Newsflash: it's been tried before.

Yep, and regimes around the world keep trying as of today.

5.56mm

9 posted on 10/10/2009 6:51:21 AM PDT by M Kehoe
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To: M Kehoe
[I wonder what the government will do to enforce this law. Eliminate Leviticus and parts of the New Testament from future Bibles?]

History has shown what secular humanist governments have done and will do to those who love God and His only begotten Son Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour.
Those who live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. And the government is full of depraved and arrogant people who love to lie, steal and murder all who oppose them, most especially those who saved by the grace of the God of Israel through faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ at the cross of Calvary where the sinless son of God was crucified for our sins and rose again the third day that those who believe Him may be saved by Him
All others will be cast into the Lake of Fire by the Lord Jesus Christ , where the coming beast (the antiChrist) and the coming false prophet who will perform miracles before him will be. The God of Israel will send the antiChrist to bring in the predestined 7 year tribulation on the earth. And deceivers are getting worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived, as the Scriptures plainly teach all who believe God's only begotten son, Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. Christians should study the Scriptures and believe bible prophecy as God states it..
2TIM 3:1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2TIM 3:2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 2TIM 3:3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 2TIM 3:4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 2TIM 3:5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. 2TIM 3:6 For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, 2TIM 3:7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. 2TIM 3:8 Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. 2TIM 3:9 But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as their's also was. 2TIM 3:10 But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience, 2TIM 3:11 Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me. 2TIM 3:12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. 2TIM 3:13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. 2TIM 3:14 But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; 2TIM 3:15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 2TIM 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 2TIM 3:17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

10 posted on 10/10/2009 6:59:49 AM PDT by kindred (Facts are a stubborn thing, but people are even more stubborn and will deny facts.)
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To: NYer
There is no such thing as a hate crime. A crime is crime, killing someone is murder, and there is still equal protection under the law.

You cannot decern what someone is thinking when he commits the crime, just because the victim might be a queer. Most violent crime is hate.

How do you argue for different penalties when you apply the test that this person was killed, and this person was killed because he was queer. It is absurd on it's face. It is what Hitler did to the Jews and the Polish people. It is what liberals want to do to people who believe in God. 'Hate Crimes' is just another one of those wacky liberal manisfestations, word play to mine emotions, like Africa-America -- Used to divide America into groups, so they can be pitted against one another for political advantage.

Ever heard of an African-Canadian? Are black people now supposed to be only half American? And what if the blacks came from places other than African? It's a joke, on us. The intellectual backruptcy of it all should be made clear to everyone.

Words mean thing, and liberals use words to change people's minds. Queers are queers and black people are Americans.

11 posted on 10/10/2009 7:00:00 AM PDT by Tarpon (Oba-Mao is a reader, not a leader ...)
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To: M Kehoe

Does anyone have the bill number or the text of the legislation. I hate these media gatekeepers who refuse to give us enough info to check things out for ourselves.


12 posted on 10/10/2009 7:00:20 AM PDT by aimhigh
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To: NYer

Just more thought crime legislation from the donks. If you aren’t in one of their favored classes, you don’t matter as much, so crimes against you aren’t as serious.

53% of Americans deserve this garbage. The rest of us, not so much.


13 posted on 10/10/2009 7:03:00 AM PDT by piytar (Zero pimping propaganda on all SRM channels at once: Big Brother in 2009! NRA Lifetime Member)
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To: NYer

[Perkins also warned that the legislation may cause “serious infringements” of free speech rights.
“’Hate crime’ legislation will lay the legal foundation and framework for investigating, prosecuting and persecuting pastors, business owners, and anyone else whose actions reflect their faith,” he added.]

Obamantion and his devilish antichrist politicians working for the depraved and godless worldwide and in America.
The wicked forsake their own mercy.


14 posted on 10/10/2009 7:06:31 AM PDT by kindred (Facts are a stubborn thing, but people are even more stubborn and will deny facts.)
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To: kindred

So much for the freedom of religion as gauranteed by our Christian forefathers for a religious people,Jews and Christians

I would suppose when the scripture’s said, “take up the whole armor of God”, he was making reference for the day we are now living.

Believe me, we are going to need all the armor God that he will provide for us in the coming future, to withstand the evil that is upon us.


15 posted on 10/10/2009 7:12:56 AM PDT by buck61
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To: kindred

Thanks !!! A good sermon that we must all heed.


16 posted on 10/10/2009 7:18:12 AM PDT by buck61
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To: NYer

This insanity of piggy-backing a sensible bill onto a frail one and duping the public needs to stop. If a bill cannot stand on its own, it should rightly fail. Sadly, I doubt the average citizen is aware of this.

As far as ‘hate’ crimes are concerned, anyone who harms another person by theft, murder, rape, burglary... it certainly isn’t done out of love. A person is filled with hate to even consider these things. Should Roman Polanski be tried for a hate crime??— after all, he DID sodomize an unwilling 13 year old girl and most of us solidly agree that in addition to being deranged and pedophilic, it was a very hateful act.


17 posted on 10/10/2009 7:47:13 AM PDT by LadyShires
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To: kindred
2nd Tim 3:12 "Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

If we're persecuted by the state because of this new anti-Christian law, at least we will know that we're living godly lives in Christ Jesus. But if we aren't persecuted in some way or another because of our faith, according to the above verse we're living the same kind of sinful lives as our unsaved neighbors.

James 1:2, "My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials," NIV

I don't intend to commit any crimes against homosexuals, that isn't my responsibility, God will deal with them according to His unchanging laws. But if I am charged with a hate crime for speaking against homosexual practices or for protesting this kind of law I will try my best to count it joy to be persecuted for speaking the truth about homosexual sin.

18 posted on 10/10/2009 7:54:02 AM PDT by epow (When I married Miss Right I didn't know that "Always" was her first name.)
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To: NYer

OK, when will Mohammedans be prosecuted for their hatred?

I’m waitng.......

I’m STILL waiting.....

Oh heck, I can’t wait forever.


19 posted on 10/10/2009 8:11:25 AM PDT by NTHockey (Rules of engagement #1: Take no prisoners)
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To: NYer

‘Hate crimes’ bill passed by House could threaten religious freedoms, as similar laws have already done in Canada and England, critics warn.

In England, for instance, “A police force was caught up in a freedom of speech row after its officers arrested an anti-gay campaigner for handing out leaflets at a homosexual rally.
South Wales police admitted evangelical Christian Stephen Green was then charged purely because his pamphlets contained anti-gay quotations from the Bible.

Mr Green faces a court appearance today charged with using ‘threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour’ after his attempt to distribute the leaflets at the weekend ‘Mardi Gras’ event in Cardiff.

A spokesman for the police said the campaigner had not behaved in a violent or aggressive manner, but that officers arrested him because ‘the leaflet contained Biblical quotes about homosexuality’. “http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=403815&in_page_id=1770

And in Canada, “William Whatcott, a Saskatchewan resident and former homosexual, distributed fliers between September 2001 and April 2002 in Regina and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, that listed the medical dangers of homosexual behavior. He was charged with a “hate speech” violation of Canada’s hate crimes law.

On May 5, 2005, the chairman of the Saskatchewan Human Rights Tribunal, Anil Pandila, ruled that Whatcott violated the ban in Section 14(1) of the Saskatchewan Human Rights Code on the publication and distribution of anything “that promotes hatred, ridicules, belittles or otherwise affronts the dignity of any person on the basis of sexual orientation.” Pandila noted that it did not matter whether the material was true or whether it reflected Whatcott’s Christian beliefs.”
http://www.cwfa.org/articledisplay.asp?id=9672&department=CFI&categoryid=papers#ref


20 posted on 10/10/2009 9:49:54 AM PDT by flowerplough ( Pennsylvania today - New New Jersey meets North West Virginia.)
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