Kennedy 'humiliates' soldiers
to further homosexual rights
Claim military rife with 'bigotry' used to justify
hate-crimes amendment to defense spending bill
Sens. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and Gordon Smith, R-Ore., have trashed the collective reputations of millions of U.S. military service members in order to advance their "hate crimes" legislation, which would make it a crime to utter a negative opinion about homosexuals or their lifestyle, a pro-family group says.
The U.S. Senate yesterday approved an amendment by Kennedy and Smith to install in federal law a ban on such expressions of religious and personal opinion. The amendment was added to the Department of Defense Authorization bill, which is needed to keep funding worldwide U.S. military operations.
"[The] senators humiliate[d] our brave men and women in uniform by alleging that America's military is a haven for bigots committing 'hate crimes'," said Wendy Wright, the president of Concerned Women for America.
"The Defense Authorization bill has been twisted to shamelessly smear our military. Alleged crimes by military members are already prosecuted, so the point of an amendment accusing military members of committing 'hate crimes' is to create the perception that America's military is rife with violent bigots," Wright said.
"It's extremely telling that Sens. Kennedy and Smith had to go back to 1992 to find an example to exploit (the already-prosecuted case of Navy seaman Allan Schindler) to claim that a federal law must be passed to address rampant bigotry in the military," added Shari Rendall, director of legislation and public policy for CWA.
"Sens. Kennedy and Smith are shamelessly impugning the character of our brave soldiers in an effort to push their agenda, forcing President Bush to veto legislation that is crucial to America's national security," she added.
The "hate crimes" plan has been afloat in Congress for a number of years, and in recent months had percolated to the top of the agenda for many representatives and senators who advocate for homosexuals.
To make the plan pertinent to the military spending plan, the senators cited the immediate need for such remedies in the military.
"As I have said in the past, the military is not immune to the scourge of hate crimes in our country. In 1992, Navy seaman Allen Schindler was brutally murdered by his shipmate Terry Helvey in Okinawa, Japan," Smith said.
The CWA noted that Smith neglected to add that Helvey was convicted of his crime and now is serving a life sentence in prison.
Kennedy's suggestion for a reason to support the "hate crimes" plan was a different case, in which a prosecution already has begun. Yet, he said, "We cannot let another day, really hours, go by without this legislation," the CWA said.
The Senate on a 60-39 vote added the amendment that expands hate crime laws to include crimes motivated by gender or "sexual orientation."
Opponents said the "hate crimes" plan ultimately will fail. "The president is not going to agree to this social legislation on the defense authorization bill. This bill will get vetoed," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.
"I think it's shameful we're changing the subject to take care of special interest legislation at a time like this," added Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.
Other senators argued that the federal government should continue to allow states to prosecute crimes.
"Absent a clear demonstration that the states have failed in their law-enforcement responsibilities, the federalization of hate crimes is premature," said Sen. Orrin hatch, R-Utah.
The White House already has expressed concern that there already are local and state laws that address such crimes, and the federal law is unnecessary.
The "hate crimes" rules were passed as a separate measure in the U.S. House this year, but Bush previously has indicated such a proposal would result in a veto.
The issue of such legislation has Christians, conservatives, constitutionalists and 1st Amendment advocates in the United States alarmed.
Said the CWA in an analysis of the plan: "We live in a world where even the Bible is being deemed 'hate' literature. Christians have already been jailed for upholding traditional morality in public places, and if hate crime laws proliferate, the freedom to speak one's mind will be limited to those who celebrate and promote homosexuality."
Already in the United States, Catholic Charities of Boston halted all adoption operations in the state after being told under Massachusetts' pro-'gay' nondiscrimination law, only agencies that placed children in homosexual-led households would get licensed by the state.
The
www.StopHateCrimesNow.com website features the testimonies of those who have had first-hand experience with local so-called "hate crimes" laws in the United States. A 75-year-old grandmother describes how she was jailed for testifying about the Bible.
The CWA has cited several Canadian cases, where such legislation already is law. There Dr. Laura Schelssinger already has been rebuked and James Dobson's "Focus on the Family" and the late Jerry Falwell's "Old Time Gospel Hour have been warned after broadcasting their religious opinions about homosexuality.
Schlessinger's opinions about homosexuality violated the human rights provision of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters' code of ethics, the nation's Broadcast Standards Council determined.
"It is the view of the Councils [two regional councils weighed in with the same verdict] that what the host may innocently describe as 'opinion' in fact and in law amounts to abusively discriminatory comment based on the sexual orientation of the identifiable group about which those statements were made," the organization concluded in censuring Schlessinger.
"It is the view of the Councils that the host's argument that she can 'surgically' separate the individual persons from their inherent characteristics so as to entitle her to make comments about the sexuality which have no effect on the person is fatuous and unsustainable," it added. "The sexual practices of gays and lesbians are as much a part of their being as the color of one's skin or the gender, religion, age or ethnicity of an individual."
"All that matters [under such plans] are the delicate feelings of members of federally protected groups," Michael Marcavage of RepentAmerica.com, has told WND. "Truth is not allowed as evidence in hate crimes trials. … A homosexual can claim emotional damage from hearing Scripture that describes his lifestyle as an abomination. He can press charges against the pastor or broadcaster who merely reads the Bible in public. The 'hater' can be fined thousands of dollars and even imprisoned!"
Peter LaBarbera, of Americans for Truth, noted that in Canada and France both, legislators have been fined for publicly criticizing homosexuality. Three years ago, a Swedish hate crimes law was used to put Pastor Ake Green, who preached that homosexuality is a sin, in jail for a month.
"And recently, a British couple told how they were denied the chance to adopt because it was determined that their Christian faith might 'prejudice' them against a homosexual child put in their care," LaBarbera added.
In England, the CWA reported, Anglican Bishop Rev. Dr. Peter Forster of Chester was investigated by police for saying homosexuals "could and should seek medical help to 'reorient' themselves."
London Telegraph columnist Peter Simple then warned: "That the bishop should be threatened with prosecution for a perfectly reasonable, if debatable, suggestion will strike people still in their senses as a bad joke, a case of that stale old cliché, 'political correctness gone mad.' Unfortunately it is much more serious than that. Here are the unmistakable beginnings of state thought control."
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