Anatomy of a Hate Crime
Today, the House of Representatives took a further step towards dismantling the U.S. Constitution by passing H.R. 1592, the so-called "hate crimes" bill, 237 to 180. The legislation isolates people in different groups, then rewards and punishes these different groups using a separate standard from the one that applies to everyone else. "All men are created equal" is a principle that brave men and women have died for, and the failure to honor this principle nearly split this nation apart during the Civil War. One outcome of that war was passage of the 14th Amendment, which reads in part, "No state shall . . . deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." Earlier this morning, President Bush's senior staff released a statement citing these and other reasons to encourage him to veto the bill. If anyone doubts that the ultimate goal of legislation like H.R. 1592 is to stifle free speech, especially the speech of Christians, then consider these chilling words from supporter Rep. James McGovern (D-Mass.) during the debate today: "Sadly this bill does not go after speech."
