WASHINGTON – As the U.S. Senate reviews a bill that many Christians say may threaten their right to express their biblical view on homosexuality, more Christians have been accused of being “homophobic” and threatened with penalties for expressing opposition to homosexuality, leading several concerned Christian groups to stage a protest this week against the bill.
A coalition of pro-family organizations against the Senate bill S. 1105 will take a public stand against the hate crimes legislation by holding a news conference followed by a demonstration on Capitol Hill this coming Wednesday.
Opponents of the bill argue that it is unnecessary because the people the legislation seeks to protect are already covered by other laws. Yet in addition to being redundant, the bill further threatens to censor the free speech of pastors and Christians who, for example, speak out about their biblical views on the sin of homosexuality.
“We already have laws for those who act violently towards others,” said Michael Marcavage, president of Repent America, according to OneNewsNow.
Repent America – a Philadelphia-based evangelistic organization that is an outspoken critic of homosexuality, abortion and evolution – is one of the main organizers of the rally.
“As Christians we do not advocate violence against other people, so that’s not an issue,” he said. “However, the lawmakers in Washington are attempting to criminalize Christians because of their faith in Jesus Christ and because they choose to speak the truth of God’s Word.”
In May, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to pass an expanded federal hate crime bill that added the hate crime categories of sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or disability to the original list of race, religion, color or national origin. The bill, H.R. 1592, also made it easier for the federal government to get involved in hate crime investigations.
The House bill H.R. 1592 along with the Senate version S. 1105 are now both being reviewed by the Senate.
The White House has threatened to veto the bill if it makes it to the president’s desk, explaining that state and local criminal laws have already address hate crimes featured in the bills.
“The administration favors strong criminal penalties for violent crime, including crime based on personal characteristics, such as race, color, religion, or national origin,” stated the White House early in May. “However, the administration believes that H.R. 1592 is unnecessary and constitutionally questionable.
The hate crimes battle has not only affected pastors and Christian leaders speaking out against what they consider sins, but also pro-family advocates.
Last month, in Oakland, Calif., a case concluded in defeat for pro-family advocates seeking the right to use the phrase “marriage is the foundation of the natural family and sustains family values” in public flyers when the ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the decision of Oakland administrators to exclude pro-family speech as divisive and hateful.
A group of African-American Christian women working for Oakland’s city government had requested permission to distribute the flyers through the city’s email system, noting that the “natural family” is the foundation of society in 2002.
Although administrators have allowed homosexual employees to use the system to promote a gay pride rally and similar events, they rejected the Christian flyers as “homophobic” and “disruptive,” claiming that it intended to “create a hostile environment,” according to the World Congress of Families (WCF) - the international network of pro-family organizations that popularized the expression “natural family.”
Their flyers were removed from the municipal bulletin board and the women were warned similar action could result in disciplinary action “up to and including termination.”
“Under this standard, interest groups of which the left approves are free to promote their views through a government apparatus,” Allen Carlson, international secretary of WCF, said in a statement. “If pro-family forces seek to counter that advocacy, their views are labeled ‘hate speech’ and accordingly suppressed.”
Highlighting fears that the federal hate crimes bills will further encroach on freedom to express religious beliefs, many prominent Christian leaders have publicly criticized the legislations .
“The Hate Crimes Act will be the first step to criminalize our rights as Christians to believe that some behaviors are sinful,” Dr. James C. Dobson, founder and chairman of Focus on the Family Action, said in a message for a petition to oppose the bill.
“Pastors preaching from Scripture on homosexuality could be threatened with persecution and prosecution,” he noted.
Other Christian leaders that have criticized the bills include Richard Land, president of The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention; Tony Perkins, president of Family Research Council; Bishop Harry Jackson, senior pastor of Hope Christian Church and chairman of High Impact Leadership Coalition; Matt Barber, policy director for cultural issues at Concerned Women for America; Randy Thomas, executive vice president for the gay outreach ministry Exodus International; Brad Daucus, president of the Christian law firm Pacific Justice Institute; and Janet Folger, president of Faith2Action.
Pro-family groups participating in this week’s anti-hate crimes bill rally include Elijah Ministries, Pass the Salt Ministries, Minutemen United, and Brotherhood of a New Destiny.
Comments
Protecting Homosexuals can be a double-edged sword. God’s children (those that are believers in Christ Jesus) and human world societies instinctively reject any form of homosexually as a perversion of God’s Word and nature’s order of things. What is natural or normal is probably debatable and left up to man’s interpretation. And although there are many exceptions in the animal kingdom that humans would refer to as homosexual examples of activities that prove such acts are design by nature and are not unnatural, we as human beings, having a conscience and a soul, spiritually, biologically and physiologically know that it is a perversion of God’s intentions for the race of humans on earth. However, man’s propensity to discriminate and harm his fellow man, knows no boundaries in disguising acts of violence in cloaks that he believes makes him superior and righteous in the sight of God and man. Thus, on one hand, such acts of homosexually are loathed and despised on the whole in our society but equally is reprehensible are the perpetrated violence and discrimination against homosexuals. How do we legislative laws that would uphold God’s edicts that homosexually and those that engage in beastality are perversions and abominations to God and man but protect the rights of homosexuals as fellow human beings not to be discriminated against. The scripture say: “Render unto Caesar that is Caesars and render unto God that is Gods.”
Attempting to silence God’s ministers that speak out against Homosexuality is protected by God and the first Amendment (free speech.)
I am a Christian Naturist and we have a church at Glen Eden. We also have people that are not Christian and are homosexual. They have told me they have hurt feelings. Some Christians (not there) have said God hates homosexuals. I have seen this in San Francisco with street preachers as well. This just is not true God loves all people and loves the sinner and while we are yet a sinner, can come to Him and accept God into our hearts. God will lead the way for our path. There are to many people that take a cause into there own hands and go to battle it out for excitement, to get aggressive in the name of God when it should be love and back to the bible. We need to win them. We are giving Christians a bad name. They are looking at these few and saying all born again right wing Christians are like this and Hippocrates.
Christians are human too we make mistakes and we sin but like a police officer's that will preach in seminars it's wrong and against the law to speed they themselves speed. They still have to let people know it is wrong to speed and harm can come if you do. ie: ticket or accident.
We are going to lose the right to warn these dear people. Let's be guilty of a love crime not a hate crime tell the truth as it is . Let God's Word do the talking. When judgment day is here, it is final no bargaining. May we all rejoice in heaven and not lose anyone to hell.
It amazes me when people take the words of James Dobson ,and other alike ,as truth with out even doing research. Its a scary thing.
The bill will NOT imprision clergy for saying homosexuality is a sin. I suggest every one go to a GOVERNMENT site and look up the matthew shepard act S. 1105. The house and the senant will let you search for it. Read it ALL especially Section 9.
SEC. 9. SEVERABILITY.
If any provision of this Act, an amendment made by this Act, or the application of such provision or amendment to any person or circumstance is held to be unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act, the amendments made by this Act, and the application of the provisions of such to any person or circumstance shall not be affected thereby.
R/W Christians must can't read or they can't understand what they read because its CRYSTAL CLEAR that this bill CAN"T take away any ones 1st Amendment rights.
God loves gays and they are going to heaven just like everyone else! I pray this passes and we all meet God in heaven and have a wonderful time rejoicing in gods love!!!!!!!!!!
(continued from last comment) The Word of God tells us that we ARE to "..take the gospel into all the world and tell others." We are to tell others to REPENT OF THEIR SINS, BECAUSE THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS AT HAND, NOT to be silent and NOT to love our LIFE unto death. Many will understand that Jesus is coming to rescue His followers from the Great Tribulation we believe is about to come on this earth, just as He PROMISED TO DO, before God releases His wrath on earth. The following are Holy Scriptures that support this:
"I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is coming upon the wjhole world to test those who llve on earth." Rev. 3:10
"For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation thjrough our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Thess. 5:9
"...Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath." 1 Thess 1:10
"Since we have now bee justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's
wrath through Him!" Romans 5:9
" I LAVISH MY UNFAILING LOVE FOR A THOUSAND GENERATIONS ON THOSE WHO LOVE ME AND WHO O B E Y MY COMMANDS.' Deut. 5:10, and 7:9
re all praying and calling or writing our elected officials about this new bill they are trying to pass.
We have an election process.
The Oakland City Government is elected. Our U.S. Congressman are elected.
Somebody voted these people in. Somebody needs to vote them out. Simple.
Why not look at it in a different perspective? Certain Islamic sects have women cover their entire body with hijab because God told them to.
What makes them right or wrong?
Christians believe homosexuality to be wrong because their god told them it is wrong,
It is wrong for them, and them only.
Too bad the whole thing is totally misrepresented. Anyone who has read the 2, House and Senate, bills knows that expression and freedom thereof is exempted in them. Only violent actsare included.
I would like to begin by thanking pgcfriend for their post,It is very important to expose those who have erred from the faith.
Also I would like to say that as a Pastor I do not speak against gay people, But I must speak out against homosexuality because it is a sin.
God loves gay people,But he hates homosexuality. God loves the sinner but He hates the sin.
There are those within our goverment that are attempting to silence the Church. In the near furture it is going to cost one who professes to be Christian.
This issue is cloaked as hate crimes. However the true issue as mentioned in this article is to shut up people that just read or speak what the word says about sin, mainly the sin of homosexuality. I am African American. My former pastor Bishop Carlton Pearson is one of the main leaders of this madness. I have audio where he spoke at the rally at Capitol Hill during the debate in the House. He specifically said that he felt that preaching against homosexuality should be made illegal because it is as lethal as a preacher pulling out a gun and shooting people. Do not fool yourself. These 'Christian' ministers want to shut up anyone that reads the word about homosexuality. Preaching the word will eventually become a hate crime because of its loose description in the bill. You could have a fool attend a church service where a preacher speaks the truth about homosexuality and then kills someone using that sermon. The relatives of that unfortunate victim will probably use the hate crimes bill to come after the pastor even though he said nothing about committing violence against homosexuals. It will not end with dealing with violent crimes. It will end with the persecution of the church. Make no mistake about it.
*I'm much more likely to kill again if I killed.......
DannyPoo, We already use people's thoughts to grade punishments. If someone kills with pre-meditation, it's first degree murder. If someone does not kill intentionally, if he's merely reckless, it's manslaughter. Can't you make the same argument that this system criminalizes thoughts? By your logic, a killing is a killing and it doesn't matter what the person is thinking.
The thing opponents of hate crime laws don't understand is that people who target people because of a characteristic such as religion or sexual orientation are much more dangerous to society because they have many more possible targets. I'm much more to kill again if I killed someone because he is black than if I killed someone because he slept with my wife. The reasons people act are important because they indicate what sort of future threat those people are.
Furthermore, DannyPoo, your conclusion does not follow from your argument. This bill does not criminalize speech, only violent action, and I would be against any attempt to prevent people from SPEAKING out against gays. However, it's important that those who commit violence against gays simply because they are gay be punished severely.
Actually DKeat, there are many conservatives who believe there should be no Hate-Crime's at all. Afterall, murder is still murder whether it is because of a racial or religious reason etc. Hate Crime Laws merely make current laws "stronger" by expanding it to being able to criminilize "thoughts", meaning we can now penalize someones speech because of a "thought" behind it. Dangerous ground to be walking on in my opinion.