Religious Freedom is Threatened by H.R. 1913

Your pastor could be prosecuted for “conspiracy to commit a hate crime” if the so-called hate crime bill passes the U.S. Senate and House and the President signs it.

April 17, 2009 – The so-called hate crimes bill will be used to lay the legal foundation and framework to investigate, prosecute and persecute pastors, business owners, Bible teachers, Sunday School teachers, youth leaders, Christian counselors, religious broadcasters and anyone else whose actions are based upon and reflect the truths found in the Bible, which have previously been protected by the First Amendment, resulting in a chilling effect on religious liberties. We have the proof for this statement.Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) has pointed out that this legislation will be used to intimidate and prosecute pastors who may preach Biblical sermons concerning the homosexual agenda and lifestyle. The legislation broadly defines “intimidation. A pastor’s sermon could be considered “hate speech” under this legislation if heard by an individual who then acts aggressively against persons based on any “sexual orientation.” The pastor could be prosecuted for “conspiracy to commit a hate crime.” Rep. Gohmert explains this danger in a YouTube video.

In a debate between Gohmert and liberal Rep. Artur Davis (D-AL), Davis admitted that this hate crime bill could be used to prosecute pastors. Here is the transcript from that debate:

Mr. Gohmert. Even with your amendment, you still have to go back to the "rule of evidence" at page 15 of the underlying bill. And it says that these things may not be 4857 introduced as substantive evidence at trial unless the evidence specifically relates to the offense.

And if I understood the gentleman's amendment—and I will put the question back to you—if a minister preaches that sexual relations outside of marriage of a man and woman is wrong, and somebody within that congregation goes out and does an act of violence, and that person says that that minister counseled or induced him through the sermon to commit that act, are you saying under your amendment that in no way could that ever be introduced against the minister?

Mr. Davis. No.

This is a clear admission that hate crime laws can be used against pastors!

This bill is an incremental step toward the ultimate objective of the gay agenda to criminalize any speech or thoughts concerning homosexuals or transgenders, etc, which will be used by rogue judges and gay activists to target so-called “hate speech” as an incitement to violence. This has already occurred in Canada, Sweden and Britain.

Ultimately, a pastor’s sermon concerning homosexuality could be considered an incitement to violence and punished severely. Once the legal framework is in place, it will only be a matter of time before pastors and other Christian leaders will be persecuted for quoting from the Bible.

Under the guise of “hate crime” prevention, the so-called hate crimes bill H.R. 1913, will do the following:

Criminalize so-called “hate speech,” which is any speech that is critical of homosexuality or gender confused behaviors. The suppression of free speech will be justified by the claim that such speech “incites” individuals to commit violence against LGBT persons. Any remarks about homosexuality, such as reading Bible passages, preaching on these passages, telling a person they can come out of the homosexual lifestyle, etc., may be deemed critical remarks and may be ruled to be outside the bounds of First Amendment protections for pastors, business-owners and individuals.
Elevate gender confused behaviors such as cross-dressing, drag queens, transsexualism, she-males, etc., to the status of federally-protected minorities. These behaviors will be considered equal to race and given the same protection under federal law.
Interfere with local law enforcement and use scarce federal resources by elevating every alleged incident of “hate” against an LGBT person into a federal crime. FBI agents should be dealing with terrorism and other federal crimes, not so-called “hate crimes” easily dealt with by local police and sheriff’s offices.
Fund unbalanced, bigoted and offensive anti-Christian curriculum and materials for children K-12, colleges, and community groups etc.

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