New Hate Crime Bill
Unconstitutional and Threat to Religious Freedom
Canadian
Free Press
By Jim Kour
April
30, 2009
Wednesday night, while President Barack Obama held his televised press conference marking
his first 100 days in office, the federal hate crimes bill passed in the House
of Representatives by a vote of 249 to 175.
But
not everyone believes this piece of legislation is a great idea. They are
cautioning many supporters that such a law is a two-edged sword and may have
unintended consequences that includes misuse by overzealous and politically
motivated prosecutors.
During
a discussion of HR 1913, the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act
of 2009, opponents of the proposed law offered compelling arguments for
scrapping the bill.
For
example, Federal Bureau of Investigation statistics contained in the Bureau’s
annual Uniform Crime Report showed that the number of so-called hate crimes has
actually declined over the last 10 years. Also, the last UCR released by
the FBI revealed that of the approximately 17,000 homicides that occurred in
the
Some
of the provisions contained in HR 1913 include:
“This new law opens the door to
suspects being questioned about their thoughts rather than their actions. Are
we going to start interrogating people about what they are or were thinking?”
asks a
“We
already have a hate crime law in our state Penal Code. What are the feds doing
getting involved in state crimes?” said the veteran cop on condition of
anonymity.
During a discussion of the new
law,
“Regardless of its motivation,
I believe that every violent crime is appalling. Furthermore, I believe
that all people should be equally protected by law from violence, no matter who
they are,” said Broun, who is also a licensed physician.
“In
addition to posing a litany of constitutional problems, today’s legislation
alarmingly overturns the cornerstone of equality in our justice system by
placing a higher value on one life over another. In no way could I
support a bill that more harshly punishes criminals who kill a homosexual,
transvestite or transsexual than criminals who kill a police officer, a member
of the military, a child, or a senior citizen. I believe that all victims
should have equal worth in the eyes of the law,” said Rep. Broun.
Rep.Virginia Foxx of
Supporters
of the law complain that laws for dealing with hate or bias crimes differ from
state to state and that this new law will codify the definition of a hate
crime. They believe that the federal government will be able to utilize the
Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009 in order to force
local officials to protect gays, minorities and others as “protected groups.”
While
opponents support the prosecution of criminals to the full extent of the law,
they believe the police power is traditionally mandated to the states by the US
Constitution. Murder, rape, assault and other felonies are crimes for
individual states to adjudicate, according to several police commanders, some
of whom said their politically motivated superiors support HR 1913.
“This
unconstitutional hate crimes bill also raises the possibility that religious
leaders or members of religious groups could become the subject of a criminal
investigation focusing on a suspect’s religious beliefs, membership in
religious organizations and any statements made by a suspect,” said Congressman
Paul Broun.
“Religious
leaders and others who express their constitutionally protected beliefs should
not be silenced out of fear of prosecution,” he said,
The
US Senate has a similar version of the bill and will no doubt vote soon on their own hate crimes legislation.