Posted on 04/29/2009 7:55:10 AM PDT by 2nd amendment mama
What’s at risk is the ability to preach the Gospel.’ So said Bishop Harry Jackson, standing with other black religious leaders and Republican congressmen at a press conference yesterday.
Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) led a group of members of Congress and Christian leaders yesterday in denouncing HR 1913, the federal hate crimes legislation that was passed on a straight party line vote out of the House Judiciary Committee late last week.
Jackson, a well-known leader in the black community as Sr. Pastor of Hope Christian Church in Beltsville, Md., and chairman of the High Impact Leadership Coalition, cautioned that this bill is a threat to religious freedom.
Jackson said, “There has not been sufficient protection for the church. We conclude that this is just bad legislation. It’s aimed in the wrong direction. It’s going to cause at a critical moment in American history a chilling effect on the pulpit where we cannot preach about biblical morality and sexuality. I know that it’s not politically correct to say that certain lifestyles are not condoned by the Bible, but in this day, those who are leaders in the faith community have got to make a choice to be biblically correct instead of politically correct.”
“This is not a partisan political issue,” Jackson concluded. “It is, in fact, a moral issue. It’s tied in to one of the great issues of our day and that is: how free will the church be to preach the word of God?”
[Act Now -- Alert your Representative]
Gohmert, a former judge, warned that this federal hate crimes legislation elevates special classes of protected people over other victims of crime and of its encroachment on issues traditionally handled by the state.
Democrats’ justification for the bill is that there is an epidemic of hate crime and that it is affecting gay people’s right to travel within the United States.
“There is no epidemic,” Gohmert said. “The numbers of self-reported crimes in which the defendant supposedly had or alleged to have had a bias or prejudice are actually fewer in number now than they were 10 years ago. Also, there is no federal nexus; every state has laws that would cover these types of crimes regardless of who you are.”
Democrat proponents of this legislation, intent on political payback for the support they received from radical gay groups, have falsely claimed that there is an urgent need to enact legislation to protect a full array of people based on sexual orientation.
“When we tried to get the term sexual orientation narrowed down to where it didn’t include something like a pedophile -- why should they deserve extra special protection -- well, that was voted down on party lines,” Gohmert said. “When you look at sexual orientation and you examine the diagnostic statistics manual that sets out all of the medical and psychological conditions and the different names, there are about 30 different types of sexual orientations, and they can include exhibitionism and voyeurism or things that are so offensive such as pedophilia or necrophilia and bestiality. The problem is that the supporters of this bill did not want to exclude any of those and even voted down the amendment that would have excluded pedophilia.”
Gohmert pointed out the absurdity of the legislation as written which would warrant the prosecution of a woman under the federal hate crimes statues if she hits a flasher with her purse after he exposed himself to her. Exhibitionism is a protected sexual orientation under this bill.
“The one who did the flashing committed a local misdemeanor,” Gohmert said. “The one who hit with the purse singled him out because he’s an exhibitionist, and therefore she has now committed a federal hate crime and is looking at felony time.”
Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) warned us to look to history for the examples of two-tiered systems of justice.
“The foundational essence of America is that we are all created equal, and that word ‘created’ is pretty important because it means we are all God’s children,” Franks said. “The danger whenever we elevate one group for special protection over another is that we inevitably in every sense of the word diminish the protection of others in society… the very thing that was behind the ideas centuries and decades ago when we said that the Jew was untermensch in the high tribunal of Germany and we said that the black man was property. When we begin to make distinctions between God’s children we step into very dangerous territory.
"This legislation does exactly that. It not only makes distinctions between God’s children, it also does something that is unique: it criminalizes thought processes, it criminalizes motivations, and whenever we do that, we go and strike at the very heart of freedom itself.”
The Rev. Anthony Evans of the National Black Church Initiative warned of the danger to the pulpit of opening this Pandora’s Box: “I believe that the black church knows what is unequal. We don’t need to be taught what is unequal. I am here to represent 34,000 African American churches and preachers around this country and I’m here to protect the divine right to speak the word of God and to not have our sermons censored by the Human Rights Campaign. Fundamentally, here, [Rep. John] Conyers is a good man, I’m a Democrat… but on this issue I prayerfully disagree on the definition of hate. I do not believe that this is the way you pay your political friends back, by muting God’s men and women for preaching the Gospel.”
The hate crimes legislation is expected to reach the House floor today.
[Act Now -- Alert your Representative]
Dems in Disarray on Global Warming Tax; Repubs say “No” to Writing Their Own
Remember all the kerfuffle over the supposed Republican disarray in their opposition to the so-called “cap and trade” global warming tax? Funny how things get misreported.
First, it’s the Dems who are -- after a week of flashy hearings -- wrapped around their own axles. Many of the Dems, ranging from Old Bull John Dingell of Michigan to Rick Boucher of Virginia, are raising major objections to the bill, which would impose enormous costs on every American. Michigan’s failing auto industry and Virginia’s coal production would be hugely burdened by the global warming tax. These objections are holding up the bill, and may delay it until the fall or even next year.
Republicans -- despite the confusion generated by a Politico story last week -- aren’t going to offer a substitute. They don’t want to be caught in another “Dem-lite” position.
House Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) told HUMAN EVENTS Editor Jed Babbin that Republicans accept that the climate is changing, but added, “There isn’t any real science to say we are altering the climate path of the earth.” Asked if Republicans would offer a substitute for the Dems’ bill, Blunt said no.
He added that the Democrats’ bill would raise everyone’s electricity bills and make the nation less competitive. “It’s enough to make anyone walk away,” Blunt said.
Would this bill also result in Zero’s long-time pastor Reverend Wright being hauled in for “hate speech” for delivering his hateful screeds called sermons each week?
Why should a church get “specific protection” in this legislation.
If I believe homosexuality is wrong, or a genetic mistake, why can’t I say the same things outside of a church.
ALL “hate crimes” legislation is wrong, because there is no crime in thought in such speech, only in action.
“Whitey” ain’t a protected class.
The first SMART thing that the GOP has done in recent memory.
You wish. What would result is that MaoBama would simply appoint reverend Wright as the new 'Hate Crimes Czar'.
My Pastor and I had a discussion on this type of thing a couple of weeks ago. He said he feared the day was soon coming when he would either have to quit preaching the Gospel, or risk civil/criminal penalties. If you are so inclined to believe the Good Book, and what it says, then this kind of thing shouldn’t take you completely by surprise. The Bible foretold of these things long ago. But, it isn’t all bad news. For those of us with Faith in Christ, if we hold onto the Faith until the end, we are assured of Victory.—JM
these black pastors, half of the catholic church and some other christian churches will still vote for this buffoon and yet they moan and complain about something they voted in
if the GOP had any guts and common sense they would jump on this and state that we knew this was coming, we warned you this would happen and yet you voted for obama.
If you had voted with our party we might have put a stop to this
course that is if the GOP had any guts and common sense . Instead they do nothing, they bend over for homosexuals, and other far left groups for fear of being called a little silly name
Then on top of this I watched fox and friends until that idiot came on named geraldo and he said how he likes obama, but he is republican yea right. Then he states how we should be more ;liberal
why on earth does fox have this clown on anyway, he is an idiot
Congress Watch Ping!!
What happened to equal protection?
The Christians are the most discriminated people in the U.S. today. They should be added to this list. Also, the average white male. He's always forced to sit at the back of the bus.
How about adding everyone to the list so no one is forgotten? As a matter of fact, why have this bill at all? What ever happened to equal protection under the law?
The only groups protected by this bill are the liberal special interest groups. It's politically discriminatory.
Satan's goal. Now he's got the sock puppet to push it through.
The Antichrist is here, alive, and well. The stage is set and ready.
he would either have to quit preaching the Gospel, or risk civil/criminal penalties.
Real pastors would continue to preach the Truth and stand on the promises. I don’t remember Jesus saying anything about quitting.
not just religious protection but “conscience” protection.
This is a property taking. They are taking the property of ones thoughts.
"What's at risk is the ability to preach the Gospel." So said Bishop Harry Jackson, standing with other black religious leaders and Republican congressmen at a press conference yesterday... Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas)... "When we tried to get the term sexual orientation narrowed down to where it didn't include something like a pedophile -- why should they deserve extra special protection -- well, that was voted down on party lines," Gohmert said. "When you look at sexual orientation and you examine the diagnostic statistics manual that sets out all of the medical and psychological conditions and the different names, there are about 30 different types of sexual orientations, and they can include exhibitionism and voyeurism or things that are so offensive such as pedophilia or necrophilia and bestiality. The problem is that the supporters of this bill did not want to exclude any of those and even voted down the amendment that would have excluded pedophilia." Gohmert pointed out the absurdity of the legislation as written which would warrant the prosecution of a woman under the federal hate crimes statues if she hits a flasher with her purse after he exposed himself to her. Exhibitionism is a protected sexual orientation under this bill. "The one who did the flashing committed a local misdemeanor," Gohmert said. "The one who hit with the purse singled him out because he's an exhibitionist, and therefore she has now committed a federal hate crime and is looking at felony time." Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) warned us to look to history for the examples of two-tiered systems of justice... The Rev. Anthony Evans of the National Black Church Initiative warned of the danger to the pulpit of opening this Pandora's Box: "I believe that the black church knows what is unequal. We don't need to be taught what is unequal. I am here to represent 34,000 African American churches and preachers around this country and I'm here to protect the divine right to speak the word of God and to not have our sermons censored by the Human Rights Campaign. Fundamentally, here, [Rep. John] Conyers is a good man, I'm a Democrat... but on this issue I prayerfully disagree on the definition of hate. I do not believe that this is the way you pay your political friends back, by muting God's men and women for preaching the Gospel."
...Dems in Disarray on Global Warming Tax... Remember all the kerfuffle over the supposed Republican disarray in their opposition to the so-called "cap and trade" global warming tax? Funny how things get misreported. First, it's the Dems who are -- after a week of flashy hearings -- wrapped around their own axles. Many of the Dems, ranging from Old Bull John Dingell of Michigan to Rick Boucher of Virginia, are raising major objections to the bill, which would impose enormous costs on every American. Michigan's failing auto industry and Virginia's coal production would be hugely burdened by the global warming tax... Republicans -- despite the confusion generated by a Politico story last week -- aren't going to offer a substitute. They don't want to be caught in another "Dem-lite" position... He added that the Democrats' bill would raise everyone's electricity bills and make the nation less competitive. "It's enough to make anyone walk away," Blunt said.
Undiluted, pure B.S.
"Progressives" sure love the tried-and-true, old-fashioned lie.
From an email I received last night....
Further, it’s already a reality in Europe and Canada. Major broadcast ministries in the U.S. must self-censor increasingly “off-limits” assertions about traditional families, criticism of sexual sin, and even terms such as “born again” (in the U.K.) that imply salvation is found only in Christ.
1Tim 2:1-4 is the model for our petitions to God. That passage says the reason we are to pray for those in authority is specifically so that believers can worship and witness unfettered and in peace. Scripture tells us persecutions will come, yet also tells us to pray against it for the sake of the gospel.
Petitioning the government at times like this is wise stewardship, but petitioning God is a command.
TAKE ACTION ASK FOR A "NO" VOTE ON DANGEROUS HATE CRIME BILL Hate Crimes Alert – U.S. House of Representatives In its present form, the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009 (H.R. 1913) threatens Christian communicators, broadcasters, Bible teachers and everyday citizens. Members of Congress must be told that the freedom of religion and the freedom of speech are not being effectively protected by this hate crimes legislation. A vote on this dangerous bill is scheduled in the House tomorrow. On April 22 and 23, 2009, the full House Judiciary committee held a session to “mark-up” H.R. 1913. More than a dozen amendments were offered to this legislation, but none provided adequate protection for the freedom of religion and the freedom of speech. The committee then voted 15-12 to approve H.R. 1913.
If this bill becomes law it will add sexual orientation, and something called “gender identity”, as a new basis for federal prosecution. In other words, if someone commits a “hate crime” and the sexual orientation or gender (which can be broadly defined) of the victim is the perceived impetus for that crime, a brand new federal criminal charge would be brought and the sentencing guidelines under this federal law would be much more severe, and could even include life in prison. This should be of particular concern to religious broadcasters and any minister of the Gospel because their teaching on homosexuality (among other things) could be considered the impetus to a crime, should a listener/viewer/parishioner commit a crime against a homosexual, lesbian, or transgender individual. Or a listener/viewer/parishioner could claim psychological harm was done to them by the Bible’s teaching on homosexuality and other sexual and gender identity issues, and then drag any minister or religious broadcaster into a lengthy court battle.
The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009 will be voted on tomorrow (Wednesday) in House. Following that, the Senate will begin committee deliberation in the weeks ahead. Please contact your House Member and tell them that H.R. 1913 is unacceptable and dangerous. To find your member of Congress, and their direct office phone number, log on to www.freedomtobroadcast.com . Click on the Hate Crimes story. Please also feel free to post this link on your website so that viewers and listeners might also reply. Also, if you know your member in the House, you can simply call the Capitol Switchboard at(202) 224-3121. Ask for your Member’s position on hate crimes legislation (H.R. 1913) and politely request a NO vote on H.R. 1913.
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