by Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Writer
A proposed hate crimes bill has been stalled in the Senate largely due to the 500,000 letters sent to senators by an angry constituency.
According to a report by WorldNetDaily.com, a grass roots letter-writing campaign has caused senators to rethink their support for the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009, nicknamed the “The Pedophile Protection Act.” The bill would provide special protections to homosexual people but leave Christian ministers open to prosecution should their teachings be linked to any subsequent offense, by anyone, against a homosexual person.
Sources working with senators who oppose the legislation say the letter campaign has shaken up the dynamics of the debate.
“This bill was supposed to sail through the Senate, but it suddenly has become much more controversial as a result of all these letters,” said one unnamed source. “Still, not a single Republican senator has yet stood up in open, public opposition to the bill.”
Last week, a Texas pastor wrote an open letter to the U.S. Senate, asking someone, anyone, to filibuster the pending “hate crimes” legislation and stop what he calls a “maddening march to the destruction of our First Amendment right to freely practice our religion.”
The outpouring of protest began last month after a radio show when Rep. Louis Gohmert, R-TX said the only chance to defeat the legislation was for a massive outpouring of opposition from the American people.
“If you guys don’t raise enough stink there’s no chance of stopping it,” Rep. Gohmert said. “It’s entirely in the hands of your listeners and people across the country. If you guys put up a strong enough fight, that will give backbone enough to the 41 or 42 in the Senate to say we don’t want to have our names on that.”
Gohmert went on to say the main problem with the bill is that it is based on a lie. The bill assumes there’s an epidemic of crimes in the United States – especially actions that cross state lines – that is targeting those alternative sexual lifestyles.
“When you base a law on lies, you’re going to have a bad law,” he said. “This ‘Pedophilia Protection Act,’ a ‘hate crimes’ bill, is based on the representation that there’s an epidemic of crimes based on bias and prejudice. It turns out there are fewer crimes now than there were 10 years ago.”
Gohmert said he tried to correct some of the bill’s failings in committee, such as a request for a definition of the ambiguous term “sexual orientation,” which could allow protection for pedophiles and any of a hundred other “philias” and “isms.” However, the Democrats refused the changes.
Gohmert pointed out that as the bill stands now, if an exhibitionist flashes a woman, and she responds by slapping him with her purse, he has probably committed a misdemeanor while she has committed a federal felony hate crime.
“That’s how ludicrous this situation is,” Gohmert said.
President Obama, who enjoys strong support by homosexual advocates, has already indicated his support of the bill.
“I urge members on both sides of the aisle to act on this important civil rights issue by passing this legislation to protect all of our citizens from violent acts of intolerance,” the president said.
© All Rights Reserved, Living His Life Abundantly/Women of Grace. http://www.womenofgrace.com
