"Thought Crimes" Bill

It's so Orwellian, it's frightening. Check out the vote. All Democrats for, all Republicans against. That says it all.

'Hate Crimes' Bill Moving to Full House hat tip Jon
By Susan Jones CNSNews.com

(CNSNews.com) - The House Judiciary Committee passed a "hate crimes" bill Wednesday night, all 23 Democrats in favor, all 17 Republicans opposed. Every Republican attempt to amend the bill was defeated. Critics call it a "thought crimes" bill.

The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2007 (H.R. 1592) would expand the federal definition of hate crimes to include violence against a person because of his or her "actual or perceived" sexual orientation or "gender identity."

Under the bill, people who attack others out of "hatred" for their race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability would be committing a federal offense.

I can just see CAIR scampering to get this passed.

The bill is now headed to the full House for a vote, probably next week.

Supporters of the bill, including homosexual activists, have described "hate crimes" as a pervasive problem. "The intentional selection and beating or murder of an individual because of who they are terrorizes an entire community and sometimes the nation," the Human Rights Campaign says on its website.

Bullshit, plain and simple. They will wield this bill like a club ........

But conservatives say the bill would punish "thought," since most crimes are motivated by hatred. They say it offers special protection for certain groups.

"Despite what its advocates say, this is not about crime -- it's about special treatment," said the Family Research Council. "HR 1592 would further carve out 'tiers' of victims, putting more importance on crimes committed against a Rosie O'Donnell than against her next-door neighbor."

Others object to the idea of putting homosexuality in the same category as race, an immutable characteristic.

Now here's what it's about..........

Silencing Christians?

Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) proposed an amendment protecting freedom of religion: "Nothing in this section limits the religious freedom of any person or group under the constitution," the amendment read, but that, too, was defeated.

Conservatives, including Rep. Louis Gohmert (R-Tex.), worry that religious leaders who denounce homosexuality as a sin may be charged with incitement under the legislation.

"By refusing to accept this amendment the Democrats on this committee have proven their purpose, to remove freedom of religion from the U.S. Constitution," said Sheldon.

"It is evident what HR 1592 is about," Sheldon added.

"It is not about homosexuals and cross dressers suffering with no food, shelter or jobs, it is about preventing Bible-believing people and pastors from speaking the truth. It is about punishing them so they will not dare to speak the truth. It is about threatening them with prison so they won't dare speak the truth."

I understand there are implications for criticizing Muslims as well

Although the Republican amendments failed, TVC's Lafferty expressed deep gratitude for the hard work of Republican committee members and their staffs for "bringing forth the truth" and trying to protect freedom of religion in this country.

The Traditional Values Coalition and the Family Research Council -- among others -- say all Americans should be protected equally under the law.

"All Americans should be protected equally under the law" - where have I heard that before?

Comments

[EJO]

Dear Pamela;
The communistic/Muslem ass-kissing/democrats in Congress are insane. If this bill passes I won't be able to call Nancy Pelosi a nappy-headed ho anymore.
Seriously; Isn't murder, mayhem, assault, and battery already against the law?
Also; people have been making fun of other people for a wide variety of reasons for thousands of years. The Jews probably had dozens of Roman jokes. The Romans probably had Greek jokes. Hell, we still have Greek jokes, and Pollish jokes, Italian jokes, etc.
And how can any sane person even try to outlaw thoughts, or emotions. Feelings of hate, or indignation, or disgust, are just as normal, and natural as happiness, love, or friendliness.
You like some people, but you don't like some other people. You love this guy, but you hate that other guy. You can tolerate that, but you can't tolerate this. This is what being a human being, and living free is all about.
And what's next? Is Congress going to tell us what to wear, how to dress, how to cut our hair? Are they the Taliban? Is this Saudi Arabia?
Listen! I've got to go! The cops are pounding on my door. They somehow found out that I was typing this letter, and they're here to arrest me.
Sincerely;
EJO

[turn]

Read the following to see just how far this trend has gone in Europe.

http://www.brusselsjournal.com/node/2097

[backhoe]

Draconian.

Orwellian.

A really bad, bad idea.

From my files:

Letter to the Editors, Washington Times, circa fall, 1998:

In the waning hours of the 105th Congress, quiet efforts to pass controversial legislation are under way.

The Hate Crimes Prevention Act... cites violence based on sexual orientation as a Hate Crime.

Hate Crimes have commonly been racially motivated. Only in Canada has sexual orientation been included in anti-hate and human rights legislation. The Canadian law does not focus exclusively on physical violence-- it includes all forms of communication as well.

...As a Canadian living in the United States, I fear for your freedom, mainly because you take it for granted.

If my words were published in a Canadian newspaper... I would be charged with inciting hate under the criminal code.

Freedom of speech no longer exists in Canada-- I could not state that AIDS is largely found within the homosexual community, nor quote statistics to back up my assertion.
My opinion would make me a criminal. Since "tolerance" has been redefined... only Political Correctness is tolerated...

The Hate Crimes Prevention Act is a significant foot in the door for homosexual rights lobbyists-- it validates the entire... movement as an endangered group in need of special legislative protection.

Violence against any person is already illegal, no matter what the motive.

I find it offensive that violence is noteworthy only when the victim ( is)... a member of some political action group.

Susan Mayhew

Herndon, Virginia

[jcgirl1979]

I second what backhoe/Susan Mayhew said. I am an elementary and middle school teacher in Nonsan, South Korea, and just 2 weeks ago, I sang a Christian song to my students. They loved it and wanted to hear more. Some of the students pray over their meals before they start eating, and I don't have to hold back on expressing my faith here. I am a Canadian, living abroad, and in over 2 years and 2 months of living in this country, I have felt a greater freedom to express my faith than back in Canada. Sex is a somewhat taboo topic in this society, as most Asian countries are conservative (and capitalistic, I might add) by nature. I told them in rudimentary English what was going on with the political correctness and the stifling of expression, and that two people of the same sex could get married, and they were horrified. Some even, in a church, wanted to become missionaries to Canada/USA to save our two countries. Sometimes I think they may be right about that one, coming and saving us from the PC/Left. They have already lived through a war,brought on by Kim Jong-Il's (김정일) father, Kim Il-Sun (김일선) because of Communism, and are fearful when they see totalitarianism rear its ugly head again. Most people here love the Canada/USA, but are growing worried about religious liberty/faith issues. Read "The New Thought Police" by Tammy Bruce in order to get a handle on what we are dealing with. She really knows, as she used to be one of the top lesbian activists in America and was for 2 years on the National Board of the National Organization for Women (NOW).

[hydralisk]

A person's position on this bill is as good a litmus test as any I've seen for whether that person truly supports free speech or only pretends to.

[Mega]

It will take CAIR all of an hour to put into motion its finely tuned propaganda and political action machine to leverage this bixll for massive Islamic gains.

I do wonder, often, if the people pushing this sort of thing down our throats will be happy when the outcome - a society afraid to speak, write, think, etc. where practically any action or thought is a "hate crime" and thus subject to political control - is upon them. I mean, simply put, is this really what people want - for Americans to be subject to arrest for what they think? For some classes of victims to be more protected than others, and for punishments to be based on who you commit the offense against, not what you've done. It is all so mind-bendingly anti-American that it's almost impossible to get one's head around the motivation for it all.

Since it splits right on party lines, there's always the opportunity for a veto, but Bush doesn't seem to give a f' anymore about, well, about pretty much anything. Just ask the border patrol agents rotting in prison.

[Thomas Carney]

Since 9-11, I've seen mini-solid state TV cameras popping up all over the Washington DC area main road, all linked wireless via 802.11/13/16 and other modes. BIG BROTHER is now watching all of us, and now, he's trying to watch our thoughts.

Dang.

There's one truth that our Founding Fathers, G-d rest their souls, knew above all... if there's no freedom of thought, there's NO FREEDOM!!!!!

Screw the Democrats!!! They're Communists!!!

[Fritz]

Section 11 of the bill contains the following language:

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.

That would seem to cover concerns about people being unable to exercize their rights to free speech, free association, or free worship if it passes.

[RhemaLogos]

Europe and Canada are already further down the road than we are on criminalizing free speech. There is a long track record of using these as nothing more than political weapons against Christian. It is the practice of intolerance in he name of tolerance Militant homosexuals and Islamist are let off the hook. Both the Europeans and the Leftist are in bed with the Islamists