Hating the Hate Crimes Bill

[struggle4progress]

... The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act seeks to expand federal hate-crime statutes to include protections for homosexuals. Conservative Christian opponents claim the legislation would (1) make it a crime to denounce homosexuality from the pulpit, and (2) give legal protection to pedophiles.

But as Charles Haynes, senior scholar at the First Amendment Center, told God in Government blogger Jacqueline L. Salmon: "I don't think this legislation would in any way infringe on the freedom of people to state their views about homosexuality."

First, the hate crimes bill clearly doesn't allow prosecution to begin until an actual crime -- a violent act -- has been committed. In fact, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that bias or discrimination can only be considered when directly connected to a criminal act.

Second, the House version clearly states that "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 Constitution" ...

http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/undergod/2009/10/hating_the_hate_crimes_bill.html?hpid=talkbox1