Debunking Religious Right Claims on the Hate Crimes Bill
Hate crimes legislation is back on the radar, with Sen. Leahy’s introduction of the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act as an amendment to the defense bill currently being debated in Congress and the religious right is once again responding with misinformation.
Family Research Council claims the bill will allow the “investigating, prosecuting and persecuting pastors, business owners, and anyone else who publicly affirms the teaching of scripture, or any other belief system, that homosexual behavior is immoral.” In an accompanying YouTube video, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) and Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) make similar false claims about what hate crimes legislation can–and is intended–to do.
As we’ve blogged about before, FRC’s claims simply aren’t true– hate crimes laws can only prosecute an individual who willfully inflicts bodily injury on an individual because of his or her actual or perceived identity. The bill has strong protections for religious liberty and our Constitution robustly supports free speech.
Meanwhile, Focus on the Family’s CitizenLink email this week claimed the vote on hate crimes “could pave the way for religious persecution,” another false claim. The only people who will be “persecuted” by this bill are those who physically injure or attempt to injure another person because of actual or perceived religion, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, etc. If anything, this bill is designed to prevent the persecution of individuals for their religious, or sexual, identity.
The Religious Right’s claims belie the facts… Not only does hate crimes legislation protect religious liberty and free speech, it’s sorely needed– hate crimes are on the rise and they violate the fundamental dignity of human beings, something all of us in the faith community should be concerned about.
UPDATE: Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good has released a statement of support for the passage of the hate crimes legislation, saying the bill is “consistent with fundamental American and religious values.” The statement also names other Catholics leaders who urge the passage of the bill, joining a growing chorus of faith leaders who have already spoken out in favor of hate crimes legislation. In April, a group of interfaith leaders spoke out in support before the House voted on hate crimes legislation and last month, religious leaders submitted testimony in support of the bill to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
UPDATE #2: The Senate approved the measure Thursday night (July 16), including an amendment added by Sen. Brownback (R-KS) to affirm that this legislation will not tamper with the First Amendment right to free speech. Unfortunately, the Religious Right is still peddling false claims about the bill, even with the explicit amendment. For instance, an AP article cites the Christian Coalition of America as saying, “The bill could potentially imperil the free speech rights of Christians who choose to speak out against homosexuality — which could even be extended to preaching against it,” even though it is clear that the bill only extends to those who physically injure another person because of their actual or perceived identity.