Extra Rights from the Left

Today (9/27/07), the US Senate is poised to vote on Hate Crimes legislation originally sponsored by Ted Kennedy (D-MA) and now replaced by the identical version introduced for Senator Kennedy by Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV). The Hate Crimes bill is Senate Amendment number 3035. The Democratic leadership is attempting to add it to the Department of Defense authorization bill.

This Hate Crimes bill, if passed, will supersede the laws of all 50 states on this subject, and will make it a Federal felony for any person to act in a way that appears to have been for the purpose of causing “bodily injury” to a “perceived” homosexual, lesbian, or to a person because of his or her “gender identity,” a term not adequately defined in the bill. Christian broadcasters and communicators could be targeted for Hate Crimes prosecutions. This is nothing short of an attempt to impose “thought-crime” control over conservative and Christian broadcasters.  Overly zealous or politically-minded prosecutors could use this law to create a link between Christian broadcasters who air programming against homosexuality and resulting crimes committed against those groups. The use of the term “bodily injury” in the Hate Crimes bill is a ploy to include not only incidents of physical harm, but also allegations of mental trauma and emotional distress as sufficient to trigger application of this new criminal law. (Mark's note: my listeners will remember how we watched together--day by day--as an "agricultural vandalism" bill in PA became "hate crimes" law...passed in the dark of night...including the very same "perceived gender identity" verbiage. This is no mere coincidence.)

PLEASE CONTACT YOUR U.S. SENATORS IMMEDIATELY, AND URGE THEM TO VOTE “NO” ON THE REID SECONDARY AMENDMENT NUMBER 3035 ON HATE CRIMES.

(Mark speaking again) We've made it easy, with a new "Townhall.com Action Center" tool on the Mark Daniels Show page at wfil.com. Click here to access it it now! And do so with confidence, recognizing that those who claim "alternate sexual identities" from the one they were born with are already protected under existing law, with the same complete set of rights and privileges due any other citizen.

Imposing "special" or "extra" rights to one group of Americans creates three immediate problems:

-Interpretation: Imagine being the police officer called upon to discern whether someone's "perceived gender identity" has been "hurt" by another's words.

-Enforcement: How will we deal with the backlog of cases filed by those who feel the words of one person compelled another to cause them "emotional distress?"

-Precedent: Which special interest group will be next to apply this concept to their "feelings," and demand justice?

Having failed in the court of public opinion--and the court of law--those who would stifle the speech of others are now attempting to use the legislative branch as a means to their own ends. Such hate crimes...against freedom...cannot be permitted to succeed.