Tony Perkins, FRC Washington Update: [This week], the U.S. Senate passed its version of a federal "hate crimes" law, which allows violent criminals to be punished for their thoughts as well as their actions if their victims are within a protected category. Homosexuals and cross-dressers will receive more protection against violence than children or the elderly if the bill becomes law. The roll call vote was 63-28, with five Republican senators joining virtually all of the Democrats in support.Concerns raised by FRC and other faith-based organizations about the potential threat to free speech and religious liberty did lead to passage of an amendment clarifying that the bill was not intended to infringe on First Amendment rights in the absence of planned or actual violence (thirteen Democrats refused to even agree to that!). However, the bill still creates unequal justice for victims of crime, stigmatizes disapproval of homosexual conduct as a form of "hate," and puts us on a slippery slope toward further restrictions.
Passed as an amendment to a defense bill, it must first be reconciled with the House version before being sent to President Obama. Ironically Obama, a supporter of the hate crimes bill, has threatened a veto of the defense bill to which it's attached because of a dispute over F-22 fighter planes. The dogfight over "thought crimes" is not over yet.
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