With the new hate crimes bill having passed out of the House Judiciary Committee last week, the Christianist lies and propaganda machine is ratcheting up into overdrive. Typical of the deliberate misinformation that is being put out is the untruths being bleated by Family Research Council mouth piece Tony Perkins in the ad below. The truth is that there is ABSOLUTELY NO thought crimes element whatsoever in the bill and PHYSICAL violence is need to trigger application of the law's provisions. As Right Wing Watch is reporting, Perkins and his allies KNOW that they are lying but just plain don't care. Sadly, when the lips of the professional Christian set are moving, it's a pretty safe assumption that they are lying. Here is some accurate information on the bill's provisions:
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What’s the truth about hate crimes legislation? It’s pretty simple. The federal hate crimes law doesn’t create something called a “thought” crime or somehow create “special rights” for a particular group of people. It strengthens law enforcement’s ability to fight violent crime – not vigorous debate, not sermons against homosexuality, not hateful speech, not the infamous “God hates fags” protesters, not the spreading of misinformation that thrives on constitutionally protected right-wing television, radio, and blogosphere.
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[H]ere’s exactly what the law says: "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."
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Another section of the law makes it clear that federal courts could not rely on evidence of a person’s outlook or statements to convict someone of a hate crime unless those expressions were directly related to the commission of the violent crime in question: “In a prosecution for an offense under this section, evidence of expression or association of the defendant may not be introduced as substantive evidence at trial, unless the evidence specifically relates to that offense. However, nothing in this section affects the rules of evidence governing the impeachment of a witness."
Perkins and those like him continue to make the term Christian a dirty word and are slowly but surely giving Christianity a very negative connotation with many. Unfortunately, making a quick buck now is more important to them that preaching and living the true Gospel message. They truly make me sick to my stomach.
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