(Tim, w/thanks to Jim) According to the reputable and trustworthy American Family Association, our Representative Peggy Welch is at work behind the scenes greasing the path for a hate crimes bill. (Note added a day later: Rep. Welch's assistant reported to one reader that AFA is wrong in its report concerning the procedural motion. Please see the first comment by David Talcott.)
Friends, these hate crime laws are awful for all the reasons the American Family Association says below--and more. If you know our Democrat representative, Peggy Welch, call or E-mail her and tell her that no Christian should have any part in passing such legislation. If she's not your representative, find out who is and contact them. Tell them that they reprensent you and that you are opposed to the nannie state setting up safeguards for sodomites that place them in a privileged position within our state. (For a short summary of the lawlessness of such hate crime bills, read this two and a half page statement by the most excellent Alliance Defense Fund.)
Our legislators can't figure out a way to protect unborn children from being slaughtered for pay just a mile or two from the home they sleep peacefully in each night, but they can find a way to silence the Word of God? And make no mistake about it--this bill is all about gagging God by intimidating those who would dare to repeat His decree that sodomy is an "abomination" before Him. For now, the assault is cloaked by violent crimes, but the cloak will soon come off. Read on for the American Family Association alert...
American Family Association Call to Action
Sticks and Stones May Break Bones, but Words Mean Serious Jail Time!
The arbitrary and illogical hate crimes bill is expected to be voted on
in the next couple of days. House Bill 1076 sets up a two-tier system
of justice with special legal protections for homosexuals and cross
dressers not available to, for example, a young mother who is the
victim of a similar crime. (Under HB 1076 a criminal who mugs a
30-year-old man leaving a gay bar could get a much stricter sentence
than if he had mugged a mother of toddlers leaving a grocery store.)
HB 1076 creates stricter penalties based upon the motivation, words or
views of the offender against certain specially designated groups. This
is why even though all violent crime is a hate crime and should be
punished equally; these proposals are often criticized as creating
"thought crimes" or "hate speech" offenses.
HB 1076 also opens the door to triple-damage lawsuits against pastors
and churches if they teach what the Bible says about sexual morality
and marriage and someone sitting in the pew ever commits a hate crime.
Last year this bill stalled because a pro-life legislator offered an
amendment to add an unborn child to the list of special hate crime
victims. This split the liberal support for hate crimes and hampered
the fate the bill, which ultimately failed by a 46-50 vote. This year
that tactic is probably not possible. Even though Rep. Jackie Walorski
has filed her life amendment again, Bloomington, IN Representative
Peggy Welch has a bill that would invoke a procedural rule making the
Walorski amendment more difficult to attach to HB 1076.
The vote on HB 1076 could be very close. Your phone call and e-mail to
your State Representative are very important to the outcome of this
legislative battle.
Indiana House of Representatives: 317-232-9600
You can quickly use this link to find and e-mail your House member about this dangerous bill.
