News
2007-05-03
Religious right
wages war against hate-crimes bill
The U.S. House of
Representatives is scheduled to vote Thursday on the
Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which
The U.S. House of
Representatives is scheduled to vote Thursday on the
Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which
would expand the federal definition of hate crimes to
include violence against any person because of their
"actual or perceived" sexual orientation or gender
identity.
According to the
Human Rights Campaign, right-wing religious
organizations have mounted a campaign against the bill,
which is likely to pass in the House, and are
encouraging their members to contact legislators and
express their opposition to the
“anti-Christian” bill.
Focus on the
Family, the Traditional Family Coalition, and the Family
Research Council are among the organizations that oppose the
bill and have made claims that the legislation would
make antigay comments criminally punishable—a
claim HRC’s president, Joe Solmonese, said is
patently false.
"It's no surprise
the religious right is so concerned about hate
speech—for them hate appears to be a cottage
industry,” Solmonese said in a statement.
"But they have nothing to fear. Even after the
hate-crimes legislation is passed, the religious right will
continue to have the federally protected right to
preach hatred.” (The Advocate)
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