A little later in this saga and Ted Kennedy has attached a hate crime bill as an amendment to a bill to support our troops. If people don’t vote for it, or the president vetoes it, they will be portrayed in the media as against supporting the troops even though they may be rejecting the hate crimes bill.
First I think it’s abominable for politicians to be able to attach ANYTHING to a bill that doesn’t relate directly to the bill. Second, I don’t think Ted Kennedy should be allowed anywhere near politics at all. Third, we don’t need a hate crime bill!
This bill will open the door to legislate our freedom of speech and will give ‘special rights’ to certain groups (namely homosexuals…) in that people who hurt them will be prosecuted more heavily than those that hurt the rest of the population. It is illegal to hurt anyone, and all crimes against others are motivated by hate, or at least rage. The laws already protect anyone who has been harmed by crime. We do not need to set apart a special section of the country for special treatment.
This bill is a slippery slope that will lead to more legislation saying that we cannot speak against homosexuality in any way, especially in our pulpits, without being thrown in jail. This is a direct and egregious assault on freedom of speech and the fairness of our legal system, and we must stand up and be counted before this becomes a law. If this bill passes, our country will never be the same, and time will tell if I speak the truth or not. When that time comes, don’t forget I told you so.