Americans for Truth

Liberty Counsel sent out the following regarding the House’s passage of “Hate Crimes” legislation and a link to a Family Research Council report on the first 100 days of the Obama Administration; see Shawn Akers analysis of the “hate crimes” bill HERE:

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Liberty Counsel

April 30, 2009

Hate Crimes Passes House and Heads to Senate

Yesterday the U.S. House passed H.R. 1913 and elevated “actual or perceived” “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” to the same federal legal status as race. The vote was 249 to 175, with 10 not voting. You can see how your representative voted by checking the roll online.

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Officially Preferred Victims: Liberty University law professor Shawn Akers writes that if H.R. 1913, the federal “Hate Crimes” bill, becomes law, “local and state law enforcement would have the incentive of federal funds to prosecute cases involving … preferred victims to the exclusion and neglect of less valuable victims.” Membership in the “preferred” category is “based not on immutable characteristics but on the class member’s choice of sexual conduct … and subjective gender self-identity.”  

TAKE ACTION: Call or write your U.S. Representative and Senators in opposition to H.R. 1913, the “Hate Crimes” bill that will likely be voted on by the House tomorrow, Wednesday, April 28. Call 202-225-3121 or 202-224-3121 or contact your representatives through www.congress.org.

Editor’s Note: we delayed in making a change in copy desired by the author, in paragraph I.A. (”Characteristics”), giving the proper credit for a description of the Hate Crimes bill, HR 1913. That paragraph was corrected on May 1, 2009.

Following is an outstanding analysis of the federal “Hate Crimes” bill, HR 1913, which could be voted on by the House of Representatives tomorrow (Wednesday, April 29). Shawn Akers is a relative newcomer to the pro-family movement but is shaping up to be a future all-star. He serves as a Policy Analyst with Liberty Counsel, and as Adjunct Professor of Law and Director of Academic Support with Liberty University School of Law.  Akers is a close friend, colleague and former Regent Law classmate of Matt Barber, AFTAH Board Member and current Culture War heavyweight also with Liberty Counsel. (Barber will keynote AFTAH’s fundraising banquet on Saturday, Oct. 10 — save the date.) Keep an eye on Shawn. The Lord will be using him mightily as the heated culture war reaches a boil. — Peter LaBarbera, Americans For Truth About Homosexuality, www.aftah.com.

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This is a very useful piece from my good friend, John Biver, who is doing outstanding work along with Jack Roeser and the guys at Champion News in holding Illinois’ consistently dysfunctional Illinois Republican Party leaders accountable. Of course, a similar principle might apply to pro-life and pro-family Democrats who are fed up with their party’s lock-step support of the homosexualist and abortion-on-demand agendas, with one key difference: the Democrat Party platform promotes government support for abortion and homosexuality, whereas the GOP’s, as John writes, does not. — Peter LaBarbera, Americans For Truth About Homosexuality

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Does a Republican Precinct Committeeman have to support all GOP candidates?

By John Biver, Editor of Champion News; posted4-27-09

Last week a good friend who is newly involved in his township GOP organization asked me if I thought he was obligated to work for Republican candidates he felt he couldn’t support. As an example, he said he can’t support Republican Congresswoman Judy Biggert because of her co-sponsoring of Republican Mark Kirk’s dangerous and wrong-headed H.R. 1913 [the "Thought Crimes" bill].

It’s a good question, since there seems to be some misunderstanding about the role of precinct committeemen, the party itself, and the people it elects.

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TAKE ACTION: Call your U.S. Representative and Senators at 202-224-3121 and urge them to OPPOSE H.R. 1913, the federal “Thought Crimes” (”Hate Crimes”) bill, which is likely to be passed out of the House Judiciary Committee today. You can also find your representatives at www.congress.org.

“Passage of ‘hate crimes’ legislation would place the behaviorally driven and fluid concepts of ’sexual orientation’ and ‘gender identity’ on an equal footing with legitimate, neutral and immutable ’suspect class’ characteristics such as skin color or a person’s true gender. This creates both a sociopolitical and legal environment wherein traditional sexual morality officially becomes the new racism.” – Matt Barber

By Matt Barber, Liberty Counsel

Rep. John Conyers (D-Michigan) and Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Illinois) have quietly re-introduced the federal thought crimes bill, H.R. 1913, the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009. As has proved to be true in both Europe and Canada, this Orwellian piece of legislation is the direct precursor to freedom killing and speech chilling “hate speech” laws. It represents a thinly veiled effort to ultimately silence – under penalty of law – morally, medically and biblically based opposition to the homosexual lifestyle. The bill is expected to be marked up Wednesday before the full House Judiciary Committee.

Under the 14th Amendment, victims of violent crime are currently afforded equal protection under the law regardless of sexual preference or proclivity. If passed, H.R. 1913 will change all that.  It overtly and, most likely, unconstitutionally discriminates against millions of Americans by granting federally preferred status, time and resources to individuals who define their identity based upon aberrant sexual behaviors (i.e., “gay” and lesbian “sexual orientation” or cross-dressing “gender identity”).

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Schwartz defends state action against “bible based bigotry against gays”

Bob Schwartz of the Chicago-based Gay Liberation Network supports Wright State University’s ban against the Campus Bible Fellowship. The Christian campus group opposes Wright’s “nondiscrimination” code, which would force it to abandon its faithfulness to Scripture by allowing unrepentant homosexuals as members. Schwartz previously claimed to oppose laws criminalizing Christian speech — yet he favors banning groups because he  considers them “bible bigots.” Would Schwartz and GLN (which AFTAH considers to be an anti-Christian hate group) allow a tax-supported public university to dictate ITS membership standards if it operated on a college campus?

AFTAH was copied on the following e-mail letter from Bob Schwartz of the left-wing Gay Liberation Network, based in Chicago, to Wright State University President David Hopkins. Schwartz sent his letter following Americans For Truth’s reprint of a press release by the Foundation for Individual Rights (FIRE) , which is fighting to overturn Wright State’s oppressive policy of forcing Campus Bible Fellowship to violate its faith creed in order to stay on campus. Note at bottom Schwartz’s clarification in response to a question from this writer.

Please study this series of e-mails and links [Wright State story HERE and Schwartz's previous statement against censorship HERE] and see if you can comprehend how Schwartz can simultaneously hold two seemingly contradictory positions:

1. he “opposes” government censorship against Christian speech (for which AFTAH wrote that “we are pleasantly surprised that the GLN leader is not an outright advocate of censorship”);
2. while he supports a government-funded school banning a Christian group for, effectively, sticking to its Biblical faith creed.

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Not the Right Kind of “Hate” Victim.  In 1996, pro-family activist and pastor Ralph Ovadal was punched in the left ear from behind by a homosexual activist while protesting a pro-”gay” school event in Madison, Wisconsin. Ovadal was knocked unconscious and taken to the hospital with serious injuries from the blind-side assault. Although police first charged the attacker with “substantial battery,” Dane Country prosecutors did not attempt a “hate crimes” conviction and Ovadal’s assailant ultimately was not even charged with a misdemeanor (he received a mere ordinance violation). Pastor Ovadal continues to suffer neck and leg pain from the brutal attack, which is fully documented with police reports. Now imagine that the circumstances were reversed and Ovadal — a vocal opponent of organized homosexuality — had assaulted a well-known “gay” activist. Most likely he would have been charged with a “hate crime,” the media would have lavished coverage on the case, and Ovadal would have served jail time. To paraphrase George Orwell, in the politically correct world of “hate crimes,” some victims are more equal than others. Call Congress at 202-224-3121 to protest two “Thought Crimes” bills, HR 256 and HR 262 today. Click on photo to enlarge.

From our good friend and youth advocate Linda Harvey, founder of Mission America. TAKE ACTION by calling your Congressman and U.S. Senators at 202-224-3121 or through www.congress.org; politely urge them to oppose all new “Thought Crimes”(Hate Crimes) legislation.

HATE CRIMES BILLS predicted to move fast in U.S. House

There are two bills now in U.S. House of Representatives on so-called hate crimes, and both need to be OPPOSED for lots of reasons but the most egregious element is the “sexual orientation” language and opportunities for violation of religious freedom and further legitimizing of ‘gay’ behavior. They are also  pork-laden, social engineering bills that are unnecessary in a time of what should be budgetary conservatism.

Just remember,the key problem with hate crime legislation is that the crimes supposedly only covered through such bills are, in fact, already crimes, and can already be prosecuted under current laws. All the “sexual orientation” category does is add extra penalties if opposition to homosexuality (the “wrong” attitude) is determined to be a factor.

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We’re three-fifths of the way to our goal of $5,000 in online gifts by midnight!

Barack Obama has promised a lot to self-styled “queer” activists: open homosexuality in the military, a federal “civil unions” law, “hate crimes” legislation, repealing the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), enacting ENDA, etc. He has also pledged to use his bully pulpit as President to advocate for homosexual goals. Will pro-family Americans be able to put the brakes on Obama’s “gay agenda”?  Help AFTAH reach its goal of $5,000 in online donations by midnight tonight (central time) by making a tax-free gift at www.americansfortruth.com/donate/. Or become a monthly AFTAH Truth Team giver HERE.

Below are 10 good reasons to support Americans For Truth about Homosexuality as we head into a New Year.  Before we get to the 10 points, though here’s how to help us reach our goal of $5,000 in online donations by midnight tonight — we are three-fifths of the way there:

YEAR-END MATCHING GIFT: Go to our user-friendly giving page — ww.americansfortruth.com/donate/ — to make your tax-free donation using PayPal or your MasterCard or Visa.  ALL ONLINE GIFTS MADE BY MIDNIGHT CENTRAL TIME WILL BE COUNTED AS A TAX DEDUCTION ON YOUR 2008 TAXES! Or mail a gift here (postmarked by 12/31 if you want it to count for 2008; Jan. 1 and after will go toward 2009):  AFTAH, PO Box 5522, Naperville, IL 60567.

TRUTH TEAM MEMBERSHIP:  To sign up as a Truth Team member by pledging $25, $50, $100, $250 or more per month to sustain AFTAH’s critical work, go HERE.

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Ten Reasons to Support Americans For Truth in 2009

By Peter LaBarbera

1. President-elect Barack Obama’s support for radical, pro-homosexual federal “hate crimes” legislation. Will homosexuals rise to the top of the politically correct hierarchy of victims in the United States?  Will pastors who teach correctly from the Bible that homosexual behavior is sinful be brought up as “accomplices” if someone who attends their church attacks a homosexual? All crimes involve hate at some level and all Americans — including homosexuals — deserve equal protection under the law without regard to special criteria.
2. Obama’s support for the Employment Nondiscrimination Act (ENDA), which would use federal power to force businesses to support homosexuality and subsidize homosexual employees’ relationships regardless of their faith- or morality-based opposition to homosexual conduct. Why should homosexuality-based “rights” (mandates) take precedence over Americans’ historic religious and First Amendment liberties?

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The Associated Press and Salt Lake Tribune report the following highlights of Proposition 8-related crimes and incidents:

• Lansing, Mich. » Services at an evangelical church were disrupted by members of an extremist group called Bash Back! An affiliated group claimed it poured glue into the locks of an LDS [Latter-Day Saints] church building near Olympia, Wash., and spray painted its walls. [Note: we went to a Bash Back! website and apparently there is a dispute over whether the Washington attack occurred and if so, whether it had a connection to the lesbian/anarchist group that carried out the Michigan church assault--AFTAH];
• Riverside, Calif. » Forty to 50 signs supporting Proposition 8 were found arranged in the form of a swastika on the front lawn of a Roman Catholic church.
• San Luis Obispo, Calif. » Vandals poured adhesive on a doormat, key pad and window at two LDS churches and peppered a nearby Assembly of God church with eggs and toilet paper.
• Sacramento » Ten area church buildings were vandalized, according to The Sacramento Bee.
• Orangevale, Calif. » An LDS chapel sign and walkways were tagged with the phrases, “No on 8″ and “hypocrites.”
• Arapahoe County, Colo. » The Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a case of a Book of Mormon that was set on fire and left burning on an LDS church’s doorstep as a bias-motivated arson.
• Wasatch Front » More than seven LDS churches have had glass doors shattered, six of them by BB gunshots.
• LDS temples in Salt Lake City and Los Angeles » The temples, along with a Catholic Knights of Columbus printing press in Connecticut, all received packages with white powder substances in the mail.
• Syracuse » A Syracuse Junior High seminary was evacuated after a mysterious letter was sent to the building
• Weber State University » A plastic plant was lit on fire inside a Weber State University Institute building after an evening talk given by LDS Apostle Elder Boyd K. Packer.
• Farmington » Farmington police are looking for a person who spray painted “Nobody is born a biggot” (sic) on a concrete wall outside an LDS church.
• A Torrance, Calif.» A man is charged with a felony hate-crime assault for allegedly using an anti-gay marriage lawn sign to attack a gay man wearing a “No on 8″ button
• San Jose, Calif.» Police were called to a house in the southern part of town after homeowners reported their garage had been spray-painted with “No on 8″ messages. The homeowners had signs on their lawn supporting the measure
• Sacramento suburb » Police arrested three teens after finding 53 stolen “Yes on 8″ signs in their car
• Salt Lake City » A man reported his lawn sign, opposing the LDS church’s role in politics, was set on fire outside his home near 900 East and 900 South