Congress Extends Hate Crime Protections
WASHINGTON, DC – Attacks on people based on their sexual orientation will join the list of federal hate crimes in an expansion of the law Congress approved Thursday and sent to President Barack Obama.
At the urging of Republicans, the bill was changed to assure that a religious leader or any other person cannot be prosecuted on the basis of his or her speech, beliefs, or association. But South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint worried that it would still “serve as a warning to people not to speak out too loudly about their religious views.”
Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, called the measure “part of a radical social agenda that could ultimately silence Christians and use the force of government to marginalize anyone whose faith is at odds with homosexuality.”
A National Religious Broadcasters official says preaching that homosexual behavior is sinful could be risky under hate crimes legislation. NRB vice president Craig Parshall says a preacher or broadcaster might be charged with inciting a hate crime if a homosexual victim’s assailant says the attack was motivated by a sermon. He notes that such laws in other countries have been used to silence people of faith.
Parshall says Christians are called to obey a higher law “to evangelize the whole world” with the Bible’s teachings about sin and salvation.
President Obama is expected to sign the legislation.
(Source: OneNewsNow)
