Hatch joins Kennedy to push hate-crimes bill

The Washington Times ^ | November 13, 2003 | Charles Hurt

[yatros from flatwater]

A new "hate-crimes" proposal supported by Democrats and key Senate Republicans, including Sen. Orrin G. Hatch of Utah, would vastly expand the federal government's power to prosecute such crimes committed anywhere in the country.

Opponents of one of the most contentious provisions ; the inclusion of "sexual orientation" as a protected category ; "have got to grow up," Mr. Hatch said earlier in the negotiations.

[Killborn]

Good one

[Killborn]

I just don't want bandwith to be wasted. All we have to di is redirect everyone to the original thread and continue the conversation there.

[mict42]

This is double jeopardy. It's like convicting someone twice for the same crime. Isn't amazing how dumb the average politican. Remember when you're going to commit a crime, don't get all upset and start hating your victim. The only people with an excuse are the sociopaths, the ones with an amoral personality syndrome.

[fiscally_right]

Why should a president have to be born in America? If they're a citizen, they're equal in pretty much every other way. I know why the founders wanted it that way.. but there is no longer any foreign aristocracy to fear. I don't think America is in danger of becoming a puppet government for anyone else..

[Paleo Conservative]

Is Hatch an admirer of the Canadian way of doing things?

Are you sure its Canadian and not Greek?

[Roughneck]

Somebody please tell me why I should continue to vote Republican.

Well, if you're in the position you could help vote out Orrin Hatch for starters...If you want to vote dempcrat..vote out Kennedy.

[Bikers4Bush]

Considering his position on a number of issues I'm beginning to think so.

[Bikers4Bush]

Are you implying that Hatch and pickle boy Kerry are close?

[Roughneck]

There is foreign "aristocracy" to fear. It just has a different face now..socialist ideas, communist ideas, islamic ideas..foreigners no longer become "americanized", they seek to change our society with the out-dated ideas of their birth-country and families...very dangerous.

Not every foreigner is ahnold you know..lots of them live here and hide their hate and dis-regard I would not like to take that kind of a chance with our COUNTRY.

[fiscally_right]

You do make a point, and I somewhat agree.. I just think the American electorate would be discerning enough not to elect some islamofascist or a Jaques Chirac II.

[Roughneck]

You do make a point, and I somewhat agree.. I just think the American electorate would be discerning enough not to elect some islamofascist or a Jaques Chirac II.


With folks like Pelosi and Hitlary in office, I doubt the American Electorate is responsible enough..yet.

When they vote out the current islamofacists, I might learn to agree with a foreign-born president.

[Ohioan]

Hatch is not on our side.

Hatch's strange stands on a number of issues, lately, make one wonder if he is being Blackmailed by someone, or is going through some form of emotional breakdown. I am not trying to smear by innuendo. I used to believe that he was a basically decent man; but lately, he has been embracing one anti-American Cultural innovation after another--for another example, his proposal to alter the Constitutional ban on a foreign born President.

There are still a lot of real Conservatives in Utah. I cannot believe that he is not going to have some serious opposition at home, over some of these antics.

William Flax Return Of The Gods Web Site

[Bedford Forrest]

Is Hatch an admirer of the Canadian way of doing things?

Are you sure its Canadian and not Greek?

Bingo! Sure does explain a thousand wrong votes he has cast over the years. Wrong and always very off base from a "conservative" Mormon. And those outsize shirt collars to hide the pencil neck, the perfect hairdo, why its Puff Daschle sailing under a false flag. And he's Chairman of the Judiciary Committee! How blind we all are.

[Coleus]

Shouldn't the title read:
"Republican joins Kennedy to push hate-crimes bill"
I wonder how many "Republicans" will join in. Looks like there are RINO's everywhere


Critics fear law for gays will muzzle preachers
By Ellen Sorokin
THE WASHINGTON TIMES


Pennsylvania Gov. Mark Schweiker yesterday signed legislation that gives homosexuals statewide legal protection from verbal harassment and hate crimes — a move that critics argue targets church leaders who preach against the homosexual lifestyle. Top Stories
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Critics said that they fear the law could be enforced too liberally to include pastors, preachers and other church leaders who during their sermons often quote passages from the Bible that denounce homosexuality. As a result, the law would then violate the church leaders' free speech rights and religious liberties.
"Those especially at risk are conservative religious people who may very well find themselves hauled into court unless they keep their mouths shut for being politically incorrect," said Laurel Lynn Petolicchio, a constitutional activist from Columbia, Pa.
"This legislation basically sets up for a lawsuit against any minister or religious leader who publicly states that certain sexual behavior is immoral or improper. That is in direct violation of the state Constitution."
Many pastors in the state agree. "If the legislation hints in the slightest of grounds for a lawsuit against a preacher, we fear that it will be greatly taken advantage of, to the point of abuse," said Jerry O'Donnell, president of the "Thus Saith The Lord" Ministries in Harrisburg, Pa. Mr. O'Donnell said that he is looking into getting insured against any legal actions he may face.
The legislation adds the phrase "ancestry, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation, gender or gender identity" to the state's Ethnic Intimidation law. The existing law calls for longer jail terms and higher fines for crimes motivated by hatred against victims because of race, color, religion or national origin.
The additional language means that someone convicted of attacking a homosexual because of his sexual orientation would face a longer jail term and stiffer fines, just as a person does now for targeting a racial minority.
"By signing this legislation, I am joining the General Assembly in sending a strong, clear message that Pennsylvania will not tolerate violence against anyone — period," said Mr. Schweiker, a Republican.
The legislation was drafted by Philadelphia-based Center for Lesbian and Gay Civil Rights (CLGCR) and supported by Republicans and Democrats alike. The state House last week passed the measure 118-79, and the state Senate passed it 32-15 last year.
Opponents argued that the measure violates the "equal justice for all" principle.
"We should be looking at the crime, not trying to decide what the thoughts were of the perpetrator," said state Rep. Allan Egolf, a Republican who voted against the measure. "What we're doing is stripping away the blindfold on Lady Justice who doesn't see the person who committed the crime but is only considering the facts."
Advocates of the measure said that Pennsylvania now has the most inclusive legislation of its kind in the country and hailed it as a "breakthrough for principles of tolerance and social justice."
"This is important to gays and lesbians because the state legislators who voted for this bill made a statement that they will not tolerate violence towards their most vulnerable constituents," said Stacey Sobel, CLGCR's executive director.
Supporters also said the measure in no way punishes religious leaders.
Kathleen Daugherty, director of Harrisburg-based Lutheran Advocacy Ministry, which supports the measure, said that the law is meant to give law-enforcement authorities extra tools to prosecute those who attack homosexuals, not to take away the free speech rights of preachers and church leaders.
"What a minister is doing is not a crime," she said. "This measure is about the people who go after persons like Matthew Shepard and harm them. Pennsylvania needs to make a statement that we will not tolerate hate."
Mr. Shepard was a homosexual college student killed by local men in Wyoming in October 1998.
But others argue that it's their values that are being trampled.
"Not only are you not allowed to speak it, you're now not allowed to think it, and that's dangerous," said the Rev. Frederick Bieber of the Hanoverdale Church of the Brethren near Hummelstown, Pa.
"My concern is that it brings about what Christ spoke about how Christians are going to be hauled off and slaughtered for their beliefs, and that's what the supporters of this measure are bringing on. That's the only way they're going to shut me up anyway."

[ladyinred]

Hatch is a closet liberal, always has been. Why does Utah keep that guy?

[scripter]

"It actually punishes someone for what he thinks," said one Senate staffer whose boss opposes any form of the legislation. "That's pretty scary."

That is scary, but it won't stop me from posting the truth behind homosexuality: that is, the major factor in determining homosexuality is environment. That and the severe health hazards of the lifestyle. Those are just facts.

Homosexual Agenda: Categorical Index of Links (Version 1.1),

[little jeremiah]

I've been away for a few days - look what happens when I'm gone! Lots of reading to do; thanks for keeping me pung. [Hatch nauseates me.]

[scripter]

Somebody once posted, and it made me LOL: "Don't count your Hatch before he chickens."

There are indeed a lot of articles to read lately. A lot of the severe health hazards of the homosexual lifestyle have been summarized and it doesn't look good.

Of course the pro-homosexual crowd doesn't seem to have a response and when you think about it, there is no response. Posting the facts on the health hazards of the homosexual lifestyle tends to put the results of their support for homosexuals in the spotlight.

A true friend to homosexuals are those who accept them for who they are but also encourages the behavior to stop. Thousands of homosexuals have successfully left the lifestyle, so why not let the world know so more can get the help they need.

[little jeremiah]

One of the things that really upsets me about gay activists is the inclusion of "Questioning youth" in their laundry list of "Gay, Lesbian, Bi, Transgendered, and Questioning Youth". I've seen clubs, meetings, and special rooms for kids - and by adding the "Questioning" they are without doubt recruiting. And then - these "questioning" (confused) kids are told that if they have ever had a "gay" thought, feeling, or experience, they ARE gay and can't change.

Then, when these "questioning" (i.e. confused) kids get suicidal or depressed, we are told it's because society isn't accepting enough of homosexuality. It's more likely that these "questioning" kids are freaking out that they are now doomed to the gay life, without hope of ever being normal, having a husband or wife, having a fmaily.

To me, this is real cruelty. And even when ex-homosexuals have tried to put ads in major newspapers, or written articles about their lives, they aren't printed or accepted by the mass media. They don't like the truth that homosexuality is a chosen behavior, or that it can be un-chosen.