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Posted on 11/22/2001 6:24:25 AM PST by Buffalo Bob

(AgapePress) - One of the nation's leading experts on family issues says the hype about so-called "hate crimes" is much ado about nothing.

Bob Knight of the Culture and Family Institute says homosexuals use the term "hate crimes" as a convenient political tool to further their agenda. He says the latest FBI statistics prove there is no epidemic of hate crimes, nor has there ever been -- despite homosexual activists' claim to the contrary.

"We have never had an epidemic of hate crimes against homosexuals," Knight says. "We've had some isolated incidents, and they have all been prosecuted. There is no record that homosexuals are receiving any less treatment from the law than anyone else has received, and yet homosexual activist organizations try to inflate hate crime statistics in order to pass very ill-advised laws that will eventually lead to suppression of speech regarding homosexuality."

Knight says the most common "hate crime" is labeled as "intimidation" -- a loosely defined offense that will lead to a person being charged with a federal hate crime for simply stating an opposition to homosexuality.

"Intimidation can mean almost anything," he says. "It could be a gesture, a raised eyebrow, it could be somebody being called a name -- certainly that shouldn't be a federal case. Law enforcement authorities at the local and state levels have handled crime, they will continue to do so, and there's no evidence that a sweeping new law giving new powers to the federal government is needed."

The FBI numbers indicate that crimes against people for religious reasons and crimes against heterosexuals had a higher increase than crimes -- real or perceived --against homosexuals.

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