All Conservatives Will Be Hate Criminals
(Third in a series in recognition of New York City's "Gay Pride Week")
I think most of us believe in the axiom of live and let live, in the plaintive cry of Rodney King's, "Why can't we all just get along?"
I'm all for that, as long as we're not expected to gather for a group hug and sing "Kumbayah," and with another notable exception. When others trample on our rights, on our liberties, on our values, on our free expression of our beliefs then, no, we can't all just get along until they cease and desist.
The Congress of the United States is in the process of such a trampling, a veritable stomping, by virtue of a new "Hate Crimes Law" which, when passed and signed into the law of the land will become yet another nail in the coffin of America's freedoms.
Just as most of us want to simply live and let live, most of us decry senseless hatred which is not what this bill is all about. What it's all about, under the guise of making hatred a thought crime, which is absurd and bad enough, is an effort to control and prosecute free speech, which is unconstitional and also bad enough.
Sponsored by Rep. John Conyers, the "2009 Hate Crimes Bill," HR 1913, takes thought crime and free speech prohibitions to a level inconceivable as little as six months ago. As one distinguished scholar interprets it, HR 1913 will unprecedentedly establish a preferred category of both victims and law breakers, based on sexual proclivities.
For the most part, homosexuals will be the trod-upon victims, heterosexuals the criminals. However, the good news is that only those heteros who dare to express an opinion, verbally or in writing, such as in this blog, could be prosecuted.
"Liberty University law professor Shawn Akers writes that if H.R. 1913, the federal 'Hate Crimes' bill, becomes law, 'local and state law enforcement would have the incentive of federal funds to prosecute cases involving... preferred victims to the exclusion and neglect of less valuable victims.' Membership in the 'preferred' category is 'based not on immutable characteristics but on the class member's choice of sexual conduct... and subjective gender self-identity:" [http://americansfortruth.com/news/analysis-of-2009-hate-crimes-bill-hr-1913.html#more-2733].
See that website for the full text of "Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009.″
Anyone interested in reading the entire document will be accomplishing much more than our lawmakers do. They are inclined to vote into law bills they don't bother to read, even multibillion dollar stimulus packages. That law covered a staggering 1588 pages and not a single legislator deigned to read it.
This proposed "hate bill" that will alter our lives, and our Constitution, is a piddling few pages but most of our leaders still won't read it. It was passed by the House on April 29th and now officially identified as H.R.1913.RFS rests in the hands of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
That panel is chaired by Patrick Leahy and includes such Democrat notables as Arlen Specter, Dick Durbin and Chuck Schumer. Feel free to guess how they will vote.
(If the website link for the bill's text is outdated, it can be found here in all its ignominious glory: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D? )c111:9:./temp/~c1118bgECl:: )
Prof. Akers' extensive analysis of the content and probable impact of the original HR 1913 is a chilling account. The bill's purpose is innocuously described as, "To provide Federal assistance to States, local jurisdictions, and Indian tribes to prosecute hate crimes, and for other purposes." Do note, "for other purposes" because therein lies the rub.
The following tidbits from Akers' analysis provides some of the chills of the bill's rub:
. It "serves only to punish individuals for the beliefs, opinions, or convictions held at the time an act is committed. As such, HR 1913 does not punish criminal intent, but criminalizes thought."
. It will lead to imposition of "criminal liability on those deemed complicit in the violent act whether or not they physically contributed to the act," such as pastors and (conservative) talk show hosts, and bloggers.
. It "would as a practical matter federalize virtually every sexual crime in the United States," as part of a "federal power grab."
. It would reinforce the "Trend of Nationalization of State and Local Law and the Internationalization of Federal Law; And a Corresponding rise in Anti-Semitic and Anti-Christian activity."
. It would represent an "Incremental Move Toward Making Speech a Federal Crime.... [and] lead to a quickly spawned progeny of hate crime legislation demanding greater and greater control of thought, expression and association.
"This is the pattern in the international community. HR 1913 would firmly brand one's thoughts on the issues of human sexuality as potentially criminal activity. The logical next step is to recognize the 'harmful impact of hateful speech' on preferred classes and to begin outlawing speech that would communicate what members of preferred classes find offensive...
"Representative Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX) said unequivocally that 'We need to protect victims against hateful words,...' (emphasis added)."
It is suggested that anyone, any conservative American who sees the inherent and palpable dangers in H.R.1913.RFS, contact your senators and representatives to inform them of your deep concerns. Liberal Americans are not invited since they will be as happy as pigs in doo-doo with the bill. So too will any American who enjoys being trampled by a repressive government.
It would be helpful to have Prof. Akers' observations handy or, better yet, the wording of the bill in your hand.
Many of your leaders will try to mislead you and virtually none of them will have even perused the legislation. You can locate their phone numbers here: [http://www.congress.org/congressorg/directory/congdir.tt].
If they have an unlisted number, we're all in trouble.
I think most of us believe in the axiom of live and let live, in the plaintive cry of Rodney King's, "Why can't we all just get along?"
I'm all for that, as long as we're not expected to gather for a group hug and sing "Kumbayah," and with another notable exception. When others trample on our rights, on our liberties, on our values, on our free expression of our beliefs then, no, we can't all just get along until they cease and desist.
The Congress of the United States is in the process of such a trampling, a veritable stomping, by virtue of a new "Hate Crimes Law" which, when passed and signed into the law of the land will become yet another nail in the coffin of America's freedoms.
Just as most of us want to simply live and let live, most of us decry senseless hatred which is not what this bill is all about. What it's all about, under the guise of making hatred a thought crime, which is absurd and bad enough, is an effort to control and prosecute free speech, which is unconstitional and also bad enough.
Sponsored by Rep. John Conyers, the "2009 Hate Crimes Bill," HR 1913, takes thought crime and free speech prohibitions to a level inconceivable as little as six months ago. As one distinguished scholar interprets it, HR 1913 will unprecedentedly establish a preferred category of both victims and law breakers, based on sexual proclivities.
For the most part, homosexuals will be the trod-upon victims, heterosexuals the criminals. However, the good news is that only those heteros who dare to express an opinion, verbally or in writing, such as in this blog, could be prosecuted.
"Liberty University law professor Shawn Akers writes that if H.R. 1913, the federal 'Hate Crimes' bill, becomes law, 'local and state law enforcement would have the incentive of federal funds to prosecute cases involving... preferred victims to the exclusion and neglect of less valuable victims.' Membership in the 'preferred' category is 'based not on immutable characteristics but on the class member's choice of sexual conduct... and subjective gender self-identity:" [http://americansfortruth.com/news/analysis-of-2009-hate-crimes-bill-hr-1913.html#more-2733].
See that website for the full text of "Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009.″
Anyone interested in reading the entire document will be accomplishing much more than our lawmakers do. They are inclined to vote into law bills they don't bother to read, even multibillion dollar stimulus packages. That law covered a staggering 1588 pages and not a single legislator deigned to read it.
This proposed "hate bill" that will alter our lives, and our Constitution, is a piddling few pages but most of our leaders still won't read it. It was passed by the House on April 29th and now officially identified as H.R.1913.RFS rests in the hands of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
That panel is chaired by Patrick Leahy and includes such Democrat notables as Arlen Specter, Dick Durbin and Chuck Schumer. Feel free to guess how they will vote.
(If the website link for the bill's text is outdated, it can be found here in all its ignominious glory: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D? )c111:9:./temp/~c1118bgECl:: )
Prof. Akers' extensive analysis of the content and probable impact of the original HR 1913 is a chilling account. The bill's purpose is innocuously described as, "To provide Federal assistance to States, local jurisdictions, and Indian tribes to prosecute hate crimes, and for other purposes." Do note, "for other purposes" because therein lies the rub.
The following tidbits from Akers' analysis provides some of the chills of the bill's rub:
. It "serves only to punish individuals for the beliefs, opinions, or convictions held at the time an act is committed. As such, HR 1913 does not punish criminal intent, but criminalizes thought."
. It will lead to imposition of "criminal liability on those deemed complicit in the violent act whether or not they physically contributed to the act," such as pastors and (conservative) talk show hosts, and bloggers.
. It "would as a practical matter federalize virtually every sexual crime in the United States," as part of a "federal power grab."
. It would reinforce the "Trend of Nationalization of State and Local Law and the Internationalization of Federal Law; And a Corresponding rise in Anti-Semitic and Anti-Christian activity."
. It would represent an "Incremental Move Toward Making Speech a Federal Crime.... [and] lead to a quickly spawned progeny of hate crime legislation demanding greater and greater control of thought, expression and association.
"This is the pattern in the international community. HR 1913 would firmly brand one's thoughts on the issues of human sexuality as potentially criminal activity. The logical next step is to recognize the 'harmful impact of hateful speech' on preferred classes and to begin outlawing speech that would communicate what members of preferred classes find offensive...
"Representative Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX) said unequivocally that 'We need to protect victims against hateful words,...' (emphasis added)."
It is suggested that anyone, any conservative American who sees the inherent and palpable dangers in H.R.1913.RFS, contact your senators and representatives to inform them of your deep concerns. Liberal Americans are not invited since they will be as happy as pigs in doo-doo with the bill. So too will any American who enjoys being trampled by a repressive government.
It would be helpful to have Prof. Akers' observations handy or, better yet, the wording of the bill in your hand.
Many of your leaders will try to mislead you and virtually none of them will have even perused the legislation. You can locate their phone numbers here: [http://www.congress.org/congressorg/directory/congdir.tt].
If they have an unlisted number, we're all in trouble.
