Christians on high alert over hate crimes passage
Charlie Butts - OneNewsNow - 10/24/2009 4:15:00 AM
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Politics/Default.aspx?id=736154 (http://www.onenewsnow.com/Politics/Default.aspx?id=736154)
A hate crimes bill sent to President Obama for his signature raises a red flag for Christians.
On Thursday, the U.S. Senate passed a hate crimes bill that Christian leaders have warned for years could greatly infringe on the rights of those who speak to loudly about their religious views. Matt Barber of Liberty Counsel agrees with most observers that President Obama will sign the measure -- adding that the president desires to "throw a bone to homosexual activists because they have been breathing down his neck...and this is a way to hold them off."
Barber views the legislation as something akin to a muzzle. "Unfortunately, it places Christians -- people of faith, people who have traditional values relative to sexual immorality...in an untenable position," says the attorney.
Ah What's matter, Bunky? Is your bigotry on the ropes? Your hatred collared? Don't worry you will only be slapped with a federal offense if you try something.
Like Stonewall, gay raids, blackballing, or causing physical harm. Then you can find out what Homosexual sex is all about when you get to be Bubba's Boy.
Janet
It sounds like these "concerned Christians" are probably exaggerating what the hate crimes bill does. Granted I haven't read the bill yet but most of these hate crimes laws on the state level simply address crimes such as violence, property damage, or harrassment as being covered under the hate crimes statutes. They don't regulate a person's speech. If this bill does regulate speech, then I certainly would not support it and it would not be constitutional. People do have the right to "hate speech" as protected under the 1st Amendment as long as they aren't harrassing someone or otherwise disturbing the peace. Again, these people are probably exaggerating what it really is about anyway.
Absolute. The bill does not not cover hate speech, they still with have that right. Just as the Klan can still spit out their hatred, so can the FOF. The bill covers such things as if they begin take overt actions like attacks or raids. Then the bill only give federal authority to the LEOs, if they wish to take action that is.
Quote from: Zythyra on October 25, 2009, 06:26:55 PMBarber views the legislation as something akin to a muzzle. "Unfortunately, it places Christians -- people of faith, people who have traditional values relative to sexual immorality...in an untenable position," says the attorney.
Funny, as a pagan reconstructionist, I feel that I'm "a religious person with traditional values about sexuality", and my tradition (pre-Christian Greece) has wildly different values concerning sexuality than these people have.
Why do Christians think that they have a monopoly on "traditional values"?