Posted on 06/10/2002 1:26:29 PM PDT by simicyber
TRADITIONAL VALUES COALITION Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 10, 2002
For more information, contact:
Stephanie Farina (202-547-8570)
Senate Set To Cut Off Debate On Orwellian ‘Hate Crime’ Bill
Washington, DC – “Tomorrow’s vote in the Senate to cut off debate and amendments to a pro-homosexual hate crime bill clearly shows why we are against any legislation that will promote homosexuality and stifle freedom of speech and religion,” said Traditional Values Coalition Executive Director Andrea Lafferty today. “The liberals who are pushing S. 625, the Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act are obviously opposed to free debate on this effort to provide special rights for homosexuals.”
“Napoleon, the dictator pig in Orwell’s Animal Farm would surely squeal with approval at what the United States Senate is considering,” said Lafferty. “Napoleon would be pleased with S. 625 because it will fulfill every dictator’s dream of punishing his enemies and rewarding those loyal to him.”
In Animal Farm, Napoleon posted “The Seven Commandments of Animalism,” on the side of a large barn. One of the commandments read: “All Animals Are Equal.” After Napoleon gained dictatorial powers over the animals, this commandment was changed to read: “All Animals Are Equal—But Some Animals Are More Equal Than Others.”
“This is the essence of all so-called hate crime laws,” said Lafferty. “It provides some crime victims with greater legal protections than others under the law. A person who is victimized because of his sex practices should not receive greater protection under the law than an elderly woman who is mugged for her purse. All violent crimes are motivated by hatred. We do not need extra laws to punish a person for his beliefs.”
Lafferty notes that even the Washington Post has editorialized against federal hate crime laws because they intervene in local and state authority to handle crimes. According to the Post, “Rape, murder, and assault—no matter what prejudice motives the perpetrator—are presumptively local matters in which the federal government should intervene only when it has a pressing interest … The fact that hatred lurks behind a violent incident is not, in our view, an adequate federal interest.”
Homosexuals claim that S. 625 also protects “heterosexuals” from hate motivated crimes, but this is a red herring. “Homosexual activist groups have been aggressively pushing for this legislation because they know that once it’s passed, they can use the force of federal law to silence all opposition to their political agenda,” said Lafferty. “No heterosexual will benefit from this hate crime legislation—nor should they.”
“Hate crime laws require the government to treat the victims of crime differently—based solely on their sexual practices,” said Lafferty. “This is Animal Farm justice and cannot be allowed. The Senate must not close off debate on this dangerous threat to equal justice under the law—and the bill must be defeated!”
-30- ___________________________________________________________________________________________ The Traditional Values Coalition is an interdenominational public policy organization comprising more than 43,000 churches across the continental United States and Puerto Rico. For more information, contact Stephanie Farina at 202-547-8570. TVC's Web site is: www.traditionalvalues.org.
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--Amendment X
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