WASHINGTON – Opponents of a hate crimes bill are holding steadfast to their arguments against the legislation, citing international cases as a foreshadowing of what may occur in the United States if the Senate passes it next month.
Among the greatest fears is that under the hate crimes law, pastors and Christians will risk committing a federal crime for expressing the biblical view of homosexuality – leading some to draw ties between the bill and the “Thought Police.”
“See, the bill is not about crime prevention or even civil rights. It’s about outlawing peaceful speech – speech that asserts that homosexual behavior is morally wrong,” wrote Chuck Colson, founder of Prison Fellowship Ministries and former top aid to President Richard Nixon, in a recent commentary.
Christians across the nation have protested the hate crimes bill for months, arguing that the federal bill is not only redundant of state and local laws, but it threatens religious freedom and speech.
The hate crimes legislation seeks to add sexual orientation, gender, gender identity and disability to the list of racial, ethnic, and religious categories already protected under law. It would also make it easier for the federal government to become involved in hate crimes investigations.
In May, the U.S. House of Representative voted to pass the bill, which now awaits a Senate decision expected next month.
Supporters of the hate crimes bill argue that the legislation will help protect vulnerable groups from hate-motivated violence.
“This bill helps law enforcement protect vulnerable groups from hate-motivated violence, a goal that appeals to the moral foundations of all faith traditions,” said the Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy, president of The Interfaith Alliance, in a statement.
Yet adamant opponents of the bill point out that a pastor who preaches against homosexuality can be accused of inciting violence if one of his congregants commits an act considered a hate crime under the legislation.
Colson, along with other concerned Christians, have noted that the “Thought Police” has already claimed Christian victims in other countries, where hate crimes includes verbal attacks or peaceful speech.
In Canada, a pastor is currently facing charges before the Alberta Human Rights Commission for writing a letter in June to a local newspaper calling the homosexual agenda “wicked.”
“From kindergarten class on our children, your grandchildren are being strategically targeted, psychologically abused and brainwashed by homosexual and pro-homosexual educators,” Pastor Stephen Boissoin wrote, according to Focus on the Family’s CitizenLink.
The letter caught the attention of a human rights activist who filed a complaint against the pastor for “hate-mongering.” The activist supported his case by pointing to a homosexual who was beaten up two weeks later as evidence that such speech can incite violence.
“The hate crime legislation is hatred and intolerance aimed at ministers and good Christian folks who dare to call sin ‘sin,’” said Dr. Johnny M. Hunger, national director of LEARN (Life Education and Resource Network), at a hate crimes rally in Washington last month.
