Judiciary Committee Green Lights Hate Crimes Bill
Members refuse to protect Christian pastors from charges

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Posted: April 23, 2009
5:07 pm Eastern

By Bob Unruh
© 2009 WorldNetDaily

This bill will give Homosexuals and Lesbians super-citizenship to the abridgement of the freedom of speech, the freedom of conscience in medical personal and hospitals, and the freedom of religion.

This bill is the evil and perverse masterstroke of Liberals, Socialists, Homosexuals and Lesbians to make in one bill all bible believing Christians, all conservatives, and all morally guided households criminals – and at very least to strip them of all voting rights as this would be a federal offense.

We see by the Spirit as spoken of before in one of the early articles about the hate legislation bill in Canada if this shall be passed the enforcement shall go by levels.

First a wrist slap of small fines and warnings to offenders to establish precedence in the legal system.

Second the declaration that we have been kind and tolerant but because of those that disobey this law we are now forced into action. With arrests and charges and medium level fines.

Third the going after of Churches, Ministries, Businesses, and Households. With the arrest and imprisonment loss of voting rights and the seizure of property assets, and the removal of children in such households by child protective services.

If the Church and Conservatives and Christians of every stripe do not stop this bill in the House or the Senate in the US Homosexuals and Lesbians will be made into the Lords and Masters of Christians and Conservatives even as Muslims have been made so in the UK and the EU.

The Church is the richest entity and the largest land owner in the US and the world. (Completely against the words and commandments of Jesus Christ) Liberals and Socialists see all that wealth, all those buildings, all that land and all that untaxed pay of Ministers and those in the ministry so that they are like ants at a picnic driven mad by the smell of food that they can not reach or touch. Liberals and Socialists see the fat and wealthy churches and denominations, as the next thing to burn pillage and destroy for all its vast sums of money and holdings until they are broke. – big church in their eyes is no different than big tobacco, big oil, or big fat, or big soda, with the exception that it is bigger and fatter than any corporation or any collection of corporations that could be assembled in the US for them to fleece. All that they could rob steal and extort would fund every bribery and every give away program they could envision for years. And once all big church’s money is taken, big church’s churches and lands would be seized and sold at auction or given away as part of the judgment against them.

Members of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee today rejected an opportunity to protect Christian pastors who preach the biblical condemnation of homosexuality and approved on a 15-12 vote a "hate crimes" bill that supporters admit could be used to bring charges against religious leaders.

The bill, H.R. 1913, now will be considered by the full House of Representatives.

The committee rejected a number of amendments offered by several members seeking to protect religious liberty, to protect the unborn, to protect against violence by illegal aliens, and to clarify the bill's meanings of "gender identity" and "sexual orientation."

One of the rejected proposals was offered by Rep. Louis Gohmert, R-Texas, who sought to ensure ministers could not be prosecuted for abet ting a "hate crime" simply because they preach from the Bible or another religious book.

When a nearly identical plan was developed in the last Congress, Rep. Artur Davis, D-Ala., admitted during a hearing on the bill it could be used to prosecute pastors merely for preaching under the premise that they could be "inducing" violence in someone.

The bill ultimately failed then because President Bush determined it was unnecessary – the crimes banned in the legislation already are addressed by other laws – and it probably was unconstitutional.

"The federal hate crimes bill is bad news for everyone," said Brad Dacus of Pacific Justice Institute, who testified in Congress against the bill two years ago.

"Instead of treating all crime victims equally, it creates a caste system where select groups, such as gays and lesbians, are given greater priority in the criminal justice system. This is not progress; it is political correctness. In other nations and states, the adoption of hate crimes legislation has been the first step toward widespread suppression of speech and ideas critical of homosexuality," he said.

Matt Barber of Liberty Counsel has spoken out against H.R. 1913, the "Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009," a number of times.

"As has proved to be true in both Europe and Canada, this Orwellian piece of legislation is the direct precursor to freedom killing and speech chilling 'hate speech' laws. It represents a thinly veiled effort to ultimately silence – under penalty of law – morally, medically and biblically based opposition to the homosexual lifestyle,"

Barber said the 14th Amendment already provides that victims of violent crimes are afforded equal protection under the law "regardless of sexual preference or proclivity."

"If passed, H.R. 1913 will change all that. It overtly and, most likely, unconstitutionally, discriminates against millions of Americans by granting federally preferred status, time and resources to individuals who define their identity based upon aberrant sexual behaviors (i.e.,'gay' and lesbian 'sexual orientation' or cross-dressing 'gender identity')," he said.

He also said there is "zero evidence" suggesting homosexuals do not get equal protection now.

"In fact, you need only look to the most famous 'hate crime' of all – Matthew Shepard – for proof. Although the evidence determined that Shepard's murder was not a 'hate crime' by definition (a misconception still widely propagated by the homosexual lobby, the media and liberal lawmakers), the two thugs who committed the crime nonetheless received life in prison – and rightfully so. (Shepard's murder turned out to be the end result of a robbery for drug money gone from bad to horrible)," he said.

Barber said likewise the murderer of Mary Stachowicz, a devout Catholic grandmother brutally killed by a homosexual for sharing the Bible with him, also was given a life sentence.

"The system worked in both cases and both victims received equal justice under the law apart from any discriminatory 'hate crimes' legislation," he said.

Barber cited FBI statistics showing there were about 1.4 million violent crimes in the U.S. in 2007, but only 1,512 were presumed to be "hate crimes." And two-thirds of those involved claims of "hateful" words, touching and shoving.

Under the specifications of the law, a Christian needn't touch a homosexual to face charges, he noted.

"If the homosexual merely claims he was subjectively placed in 'apprehension of bodily injury' by the Christian's words then, again, the Christian can be thrown in prison for a felony 'hate crime,'" he said.

The committee also rejected an amendment offered by Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, that would have withheld its special protections from pedophiles.

WND reported just a day ago that the plan was introduced by Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., who said, "The bill only applies to bias-motivated violent crimes and does not impinge public speech or writing in any way."

Section 10 of the act states, "Nothing in this Act, or the amendments made by this Act, shall be construed to prohibit any expressive conduct protected from legal prohibition by, or any activities protected by the free speech or free exercise clauses of, the First Amendment to the Constitution."

However, critics cite United States Code Title 18, Section 2, as evidence of how the legislation could be used against people who merely speak out against homosexuality. It states: Whoever commits an offense against the United States or aids, abets, counsels, commands, induces or procures its commission, is punishable as a principal.

Jeff King, president of International Christian Concern, warned Christians to speak up before the legislation passes. He said they are acting like the proverbial frog in a slowly heating kettle that boils to death.

"They need to wake up and take action to oppose this threat to religious liberty."