House Extends Hate Crimes Law to Cover Gays

c. 2007 Religion News Service WASHINGTON _ The House voted Thursday (May 3) to extend hate crimes legislation to add protections for homosexuals, bisexuals and those with gender identity issues in the same way that people are protected because of race or creed. Democratic leaders called it a civil rights victory, but conservatives and some […]

c. 2007 Religion News Service

WASHINGTON _ The House voted Thursday (May 3) to extend hate crimes legislation to add protections for homosexuals, bisexuals and those with gender identity issues in the same way that people are protected because of race or creed.

Democratic leaders called it a civil rights victory, but conservatives and some church leaders argued the bill gives gays special rights and threatens the free speech of clergy who preach that homosexuality is immoral.


The White House has already sent signals that President Bush will veto the bill if it passes the Senate; a statement from the Executive Office of the President called the legislation “unnecessary and constitutionally questionable.”

Existing law, on the books since 1968, gives the federal government jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute violent crimes committed because of a person’s religion or race. The new legislation would put sexual orientation on the same plane, adding stricter penalties for those convicted of crimes against homosexuals. It also adds protections for people with disabilities.

Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., an openly gay man presiding over the debate from the speaker’s rostrum, announced the passage of the bill with a bang of the gavel. It passed 237-180.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich., a lead sponsor of the bill, said its passage marked the “last and final” extension of civil rights language. “This strengthens the old law, which does not include protection for bias against someone’s actual or perceived gender or gender identity,” he said.

But Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, warned that clergy could be targeted by prosecutors if someone in a congregation commits a crime against a homosexual because of a sermon or counseling he or she heard in church. Clergy could be seen as “aiding and abetting” a criminal, Gohmert said.

Gohmert noted that similar legislation in Canada and Sweden has landed Christians in jail for “preaching the word of God,” that homosexuality is sinful.

“This bill is an effort to silence people who step up and say the homosexual lifestyle is wrong,” said Gohmert.


Republicans attempted to add protections for senior citizens and military personnel, but that move was defeated on a mainly party-line vote.

In a statement, Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest gay rights group, said one out of six crimes are committed because of sexual orientation.

“This is a historic day that moves all Americans closer to safety from the scourge of hate violence,” Solmonese said.

Some prominent African-American leaders said they would call on their congregants to oppose the bill.

“Homosexuals are hijacking the civil rights movement,” said Bishop Harry Jackson, senior pastor at Hope Christian Church in Washington, D.C., which has 3,000 congregants.

“As an African-American, I have long questioned the attempts of the homosexual community to piggyback on the legislative breakthroughs blacks have achieved in civil rights,” said Jackson.


KRE/PH END TURNER

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