Guest Post: Hate Crimes Bill Defeated for Now

July 20th, 2007 by Halli

From Bryan Fischer, Idaho Values Alliance

Unable to break the Republican-led filibuster that blocked passage of an effort to remove some U.S. troops from Iraq by next spring, Sen. Harry Reid withdrew the defense spending bill to which the hate-crimes measure had been attached.

Reid’s spokesman said it could be a “long time” before the senator brings the defense bill back to the floor, which also then could put an indefinite hold on the hate-crimes bill.

So we have been given a reprieve for now on a bill that would eventually criminalize thought, endanger religious liberty and freedom of speech, and violate the sacred principle of justice that every victim should have the equal protection of the law.

Thank you for your calls to Sen. Craig and to Sen. Crapo in opposition to the hate crimes measure. Your voice was heard! We will keep you posted if efforts are made to revive this dangerous piece of legislation.

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Posted in Constitutional Issues, Family Matters, Guest Posts | 6 Comments »

6 Responses

1. Rod Says:
   July 22nd, 2007 at 5:30 pm

   That’s a relief. I can keep hating. . . in a Christian sort of way.

2. Adam Graham Says:
   July 22nd, 2007 at 8:26 pm

   Dang, where’d you pick up the troll.

   Actually, I find what Rod says interesting because he’s affirming the hate crimes bill is about thought, not actions.

   If it were really about actions, Rod would say, “That’s a relief, I can go and beat a gay guy with a baseball bat.” Of course, that’d be easily refutable. That’s clearly illegal.

   However, without the hate crimes law passed, you can disagree with the homosexual lifestyle without being a criminal.

3. Rod Says:
   July 23rd, 2007 at 8:25 am

   Name calling? Come on Adam, that’s not very Christian is it?

4. Out of the Mouths of Trolls | Adam's Blog Says:
   July 23rd, 2007 at 8:32 am

   [...] liberal commenter over at Trish and Halli unintentionally made the Conservative case about hate crimes with his reaction to a bill being shelved that would have made hate crimes apply [...]

5. Rod Says:
   July 23rd, 2007 at 9:21 am

   I love how Adam jumps to assumptions. I disagree with him on these issues and he automatically distance me as a human by using terms like “Troll” and “Liberal” to dehumanize me in his mind. I am neither a Troll (I’m way too tall) nor a Liberal (I don’t limit my thinking by alligning with a narrow group like Consevatisism or Liberalism). Also, Adam, let’s be honest, you more than “disagree” with homosexuals. You want to say the “H” word, so be honest and say it.

   Hate crimes are message crimes. They are different from other crimes in that the offender is sending a message to members of a certain group that they are unwelcome. So it is more than just one crime. To use Adam’s example, beating a man (notice I used the word “man” not “gay guy”; the words Adam uses reveal much) with a bat is already against the law the offernder should be punished for that; the “Hate Crime” part of the action, because the man is gay, is directed at others. It is a separate crime that should be addressed separately from the assault and punishable. It’s not a difficult concept if you can step out of your own agenda of hatred to see and understand it.

6. Adam Graham Says:
   July 23rd, 2007 at 12:40 pm

   A troll is someone who tries to stir up controversy on the Internet blog or forum.

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