Posted on 06/21/2004 10:17:42 PM PDT by JohnHuang2
Tuesday, June 22, 2004
An activist group is accusing senators of discrimination for passing a "hate crimes" amendment on sexual orientation but refusing to consider a resolution supporting tolerance for ex-homosexuals.
The resolution promoted by Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays & Gays, or PFOX, says "Congress condemns hate against ex-gays and affirms its commitment to a society that respects all people, including former homosexuals."
Last Tuesday, the Senate approved 65-33 an amendment sponsored by Sen. Edward Kennedy to expand federal hate-crime laws to include homosexuals. The legislation is part of the Defense Authorization Act, which Congress must pass this year. If the bill is approved as a whole, a conference committee will reconcile the Senate's version with the House's, which does not include the hate crimes amendment.
PFOX Executive Director Regina Griggs says she can't understand why Republican Sen. George Allen of Virginia voted for the hate-crimes amendment but refused to co-sponsor a resolution calling for tolerance for "ex-gays."
"Now who could be opposed to that?" asked Griggs, who says her group came to Capitol Hill last month for "Ex-Gay Lobby Days."
Rev. Darryl Foster, an African-American former homosexual, asked Allen's office to sign on to the resolution but was rebuffed.
"Allen's office said that acknowledging ex- gays through the resolution would amount to 'favoritism' and the senator would not do that," said Foster.
Griggs insisted it's Allen who appears to be "playing favorites" by discriminating against former homosexuals.
"Sen. Allen voted for the Kennedy gay hate-crimes law which will cost taxpayers $5 million a year to implement, yet refuses to co-sponsor our resolution, which is merely a statement condemning hate against former homosexuals and costs nothing to implement," she said. "It doesn't make sense."
PFOX says for the past two years, Kennedy's office has refused to make an appointment to meet with his former-homosexual constituents on Ex-Gay Lobby Days.
"Because of his closed door policy to ex-gays, Kennedy's gay hate-crimes law will not protect former homosexuals," said Griggs. "Sen. Kennedy's intolerance and ignorance of ex-gay issues, and Sen. Allen's refusal to consider supporting a resolution for ex-gays, is unfortunate in this age of civil rights."
Kennedy's hate-crimes proposal would be the first major expansion of the 1968 hate-crimes statue, which allows federal prosecution of crimes based on race, color, religion or national origin.
Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore., said of the hate-crimes provision: "I cannot think of a more decent and Christian thing to do. ... When people are being stoned in the public square, we ought to come to their rescue."
But fellow Republican, Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas, contends Kennedy's amendment is unnecessary.
"Crimes against another person are crimes of hate regardless of who the individual is," he said. "This is a hateful thing to do."
Robert Knight, director of the Culture and Family Institute at Concerned Women for America, argues the hate-crimes language violates equal protection under the law for all citizens.
"When you start dividing people into categories and devote more resources to some victims rather than others," he said, "you're violating equal protection."
Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., warned the bill could end up "criminalizing thought."
But Smith sees the hate-crimes legislation, supported by 18 Republicans and every Democrat, as an important precursor to dealing with the proposed federal amendment banning same-sex marriage, which he supports.
"Before you get to marriage, get over hate," he said.
Homosexual Agenda Ping - More on the Nasty "Hate Crimes" addition to the Defense Spending bill. Every time I read about this I am more and more angrily nauseated (if such an emotion can be described...)
Gordon Smith is a (deleted) fool, RINO, and one sick puppy. I don't want to offend anyone, but it's getting very tiresome to read over and over his stupid bleating about getting rid of "hate" and homosexuals being "stoned" in the "public square". It's disgusting that *18* RINOS voted for this. You'd expect Dems to go for this hateful nazi crap, but Republicans?
Get rid of these creeps. We need REAL conservatives in the Senate. And House.
Ex-homosexuals are the secret the liberals want to go away.
Let me *and* Scripter know if anyone wants on/off this pinglist.
Now, now remember the 11th commandment.</sarcasm>
BTTT.
TAKE AWAY THEIR MARIJUANA!
Wow. Maybe I don't pay enough attention to Breaking News on FR, but I've never heard about any gays being stoned in the public square. Have I missed something?
But I don't get the tolerance for "ex-gays" thing. I mean, doesn't ex-gay technically mean they're living a straight and therefore normal life?
Seems to me they're wanting to flaunt their "ex-gay" status, not put it behind them (so to speak). I guess it depends on what the meaning of "ex" is...
"Allen's office said that acknowledging ex- gays through the resolution would amount to 'favoritism' and the senator would not do that," said Foster.
"When you start dividing people into categories and devote more resources to some victims rather than others," he said, "you're violating equal protection."
Ex-homosexuals are the secret the liberals want to go away.
I hyave no idea how the "sexuals" ad link turned up there. I'll have to run the virus sweep again.
I need information...Aren't there sodomy laws on the books somewhere in this country?..I know there USED to be sodomy laws...so it is beyond my comprehension as to why I need to tolerate and give special interest to people who engage in activities that were legally wrong (at least up until recently)..but even still are morally wrong...against God and nature.
It seems to me if we keep going at this rate we will have laws to protect murderers and
thieves by putting them into special interest groups.
"I am a terrorist and find great joy in dismembering people...but don't you dare say anything against me..I was born this way and I can't help it that I find great pleasure when I blow up little children and rape your women....</sarcasm>
Just wondering when the line between right and wrong was erased and we fell into this dark gray area?
Hate crimes are thought crimes. If there exists positive law prohibiting murder and a human commits murder, there is a penalty stipulated under the positive law. If the murderer has a certain thought in his head (such as "I hate white dudes"), it is still murder, nothing else. Hate-crime-law advocates use a methodological collectivism to suggest that it is a crime against all 'white dudes'.
The ammendment proposed by Sen. Kennedy would have a chilling effect on ex-gays who want to speak out against the homosexual agenda. By exposing the horrors of the homosexual lifestyle and its consequences it is not improbable that they would be accused of hate speech.
The best solution would be to kill the bill or we can look forward to the prosecution of people who just quote the bible on these matters.
Thanks Flora. That makes more sense.
I have an aquaintance who has left the homosexual world, accepted the Lord and turned her life around. She now works diligently to get the word out. Her life is not easy. But for one doing the Lord's work it never is.
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