Posted on 09/29/2004 7:12:52 PM PDT by watchout
House moves to boost hate crimes bill
SUMMARY: The U.S. House of Representatives held a procedural vote Tuesday in favor of a federal hate crimes bill that includes crimes motivated by real or perceived sexual orientation.
The U.S. House of Representatives held a procedural vote Tuesday in favor of a federal hate crimes bill that includes crimes motivated by real or perceived sexual orientation.
The 213-186 vote was a motion to instruct conference committee members that a majority of the House wants the bill to pass. According to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation's largest LGBT rights group, 31 Republicans voted with the majority.
While the Senate passed a version of the bill last June, House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, has refused to bring the measure to a full House vote. Instead, he and several conservative colleagues are pushing for a vote on Thursday that would amend the U.S. Constitution to forbid same-sex couples from marrying. DeLay acknowledges that he does not have the two-thirds majority needed to pass the measure, but he has said he wants representatives "on record" regarding this politically divisive issue.
"It's mean-spirited, election-year politics," said HRC President Cheryl Jacques.
The hate crimes bill, known as the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, would add real or perceived sexual orientation, gender and disability to federal hate crimes laws. Advocates for transgender rights, however, are concerned that the measure doesn't go far enough in protecting gender expression and identity.
"We urge committee members to work to pass this important measure into law," Jacques said in a prepared statement. "Americans should know that their members of Congress are putting their safety over politics."
Same way that McLame-FeinSwine got passed.
One more step closer to the THOUGHT POLICE! Or should I say "GESTAPO" ??
Didn't Rome go out this way?
First, voter fraud, and now this? Which 36 republicans votes with this little piece of selective protection?
Whoops - 31, not 36. Doesn't matter. Sexual orientation is a choice, not a state of being.
What a crock! Whats wrong with it just being a crime? Oooh looky there, he doesn't like pink people, lets make it a double murder instead of just murder.
reading "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" right now.
Hate crimes are very valuable tools for socialists.
A crime is a crime. Trying to assign some sort of alternative motive is silly, dangerous, and ultimately foolish.
Soon it will be a crime to speak against either major party....then what, I know, but according to a majority its tinfoil hat stuff.
Eventually "We the people" are going to have to stand up and deal with this problem; before someone like Hitlery comes to power and tries to build a Fourth Reich.
Why are Hastert and the White House going along with this? They certainly had no problems twisting arms to pass the Medicare entitlement. We're going to end up like Sweden and Canada if this passes.
Hastert and Delay can't stop it. Just like what happened with McCain-Feingold. If enough members of the House want a bill out of committee, they can bypass the normal rules and force a vote on it.
You sure? I don't really feel like I chose.
How sure are you?
"GESTAPO" is the right word
this is crap. kick them all out including any rino that votes for this!
United Nations
Ping to House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. At least he is trying (to DeLay the bill).
Having sex is a choice in itself. The selection of a partner is also a choice.
One can only imagine (after waking from a nightmare!) how this will impact the preaching of the Gospel. Slowly, step by step, the erosion continues.
<><
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.