Lawmaker proposes removing sexual orientation from hate crimes law

[Freddie Stubbs]

The Associated Press


HARRISBURG, Pa. - A state lawmaker has proposed a bill that would remove the section banning harassment based on sexual orientation from Pennsylvania's hate crime laws.

State Rep. Thomas Yewcic, D-Cambria, said he filed the bill in response to the arrest of five evangelical Christian protesters at a gay pride festival in Philadelphia.

The five were charged with violating Pennsylvania's Ethnic Intimidation Act when they disrupted the event with bullhorn preaching that homosexuality is a sin.

The Repent America demonstrators resisted a police order to pull back, and police said they were concerned about possible violence.

more: http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/103-02132005-449595.html

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

1. Perhaps it's time...

To unleash a recall petition on this joker?

[Freddie Stubbs]

3. PA State officials are not subject to recall

Even if they were, I don't suspect that one would be successful. Rural Pennsylvania is fairly conservative, and unfortunately, this guy is probably representative of the views of his constituents on this issue.

[slackmaster]

2. Shocking

Yewcic is an asshat.

[HereSince1628]

4. Dear Rep. Yewcic, Beware the slippery slope.

[Ian David]

5. Maybe gay people will start harassing straight people in PA?

[Ian David]

6. I think he's COUNTING ON the slippery slope

[mrgorth]

7. What a fuckhead.

[demodonkey]

8. The Klan used to burn crosses in rural PA against people w/names like...

YEWCIC.

No this was not against African-Americans (there were none around in rural PA, or VERY few). It was against the Slavs, hunkys, bo-hunks, whatever you called 'em the "Johnny Bulls" wanted those eastern Europeans OUT and weren't afraid to don their pointy hoods to get it done. My own father recorded an oral history about this happening near our home when he was a small boy, and how terrified he was. And basically how my naturalized-citizen Grandparents had LESS rights than the rest of the Americans in our town.

So Mr. Yewcic better look back to his own ancestry... HE could just be the next group to slide right back down that slippery slope to LEGALIZED discrimination!

[Freddie Stubbs]

9. It wasn't ethnicity as much as religion that the Klan persecuted

Most of these Southern and Eastern European immigrants were Catholic. The Klan during the early 20th Century (when it actually reached it park) was virulently anti-Catholic.

[demodonkey]

10. Yes but the Klan guys actually called my father "little HUNKY boy", not

"little Catholic boy"... He once overheard some "Johnny Bull" guys plotting how these "foreigners" should be sent back to their own countries where they came from! (Sound familiar, today?) The one guy said that after they were all shipped back to "their countries" he'd LOVE to get his hands on my grandfather's land!

Some of the more "acceptable" Catholics (Western European) with names like "Smith" etc were not quite as persecuted as those with names like Yewcic. Was a big reason, actually, for some Slavic families to change their names. My family didn't change and I still actually face a little bit of persecution/discrimination (whatever you want to call it) today (people who think it's cute to tease me about my "unpronounceable" name, I've been turned down for a few jobs but can't prove why, etc etc).

And besides... "when they came for the Catholics, I did not stand up because I was not a Catholic"... etc..