Hate Crimes Bill: An affront to liberty

So congress finally passed the Hate Crimes bill ...

This is classic. Attach a bill that's controversial to a bill that's not controversial and pass it with "bipartisan support." Well, yeah, not passing the bill would mean that our soldiers wouldn't get needed defense funding. Passing the bill, however, means a both-barrels shotgun assault on first amendment rights.

Let be be clear: I am totally against anyone who commits a crime/violence against gays. That's wrong. They are people too, created in the image of God and deserving of dignity and respect.

However, this bill defines "crime" broadly as even SAYING anything that is subjectively offensive about gays. It could, and almost certainly will, be used to bar even religious speech by Christians, Muslims, or Jews, including denoting reading parts of religious texts that any gay person finds offensive as "hate speech" punishable by outrages fines and/or prison time.

For instance, if I were to read Leviticus 18:22 aloud, even in my church, if a gay person happens to feel offended, they could prosecute me on the same level as if I had been member of the KKK spewing threats of violence against racial minorities.

And that, my friends, is an affront to the first amendment and everything America is about. This bill is a shameful assault on free speech and freedom of religion.

This is why it is imperative that the republicans retake congress; so we can repeal this atrocity against our liberty.