What's Wrong With "Anti-Hate" Laws?

by Rev. Ted Pike

Almost everybody is against hate. So what's wrong with the huge federal "anti-hate" bill, "The Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act," which was rejected by Congress, Oct. 8th, but will surely be reintroduced this spring?

The problem is the government's definition of hate. It's not the same as Webster's. In its "anti-hate" educational program, the government endorses the idea that "hate equals bias against homosexuality" (homophobia).

What document is the most biased against homosexuality? The Holy Bible. Bible-believing evangelical Christians are thus the ultimate target of the twisted definition of "hate" upon which the federal hate bill is based.

If the LLEEA is passed this spring, it will begin to criminalize criticism of homosexuality. It will quickly broaden to address the grievances of homosexuals, not just concerning physical safety from violent hate crimes, but emotional safety. Through enabling legislation and judicial precedent, hate crimes will soon come to mean "hate speech", just as it does in Canada, Sweden, France, Ireland, etc.

Phony Statistics

Proponents of the federal hate bill claim there exists an "epidemic of hate" in America. It is a crisis, they contend, that cries out for massive federal legislation.

Yet, the FBI's annual "Uniform Crime Report" for 2002 shows that alleged "hate crimes constitute an infinitesimal 1/20 of 1% of all crime in America. This is hardly a crisis demanding creation of a vast federal "anti-hate" bureaucracy with unlimited power to invade state's rights in law enforcement.

Also, at least 95% of so-called "hate crimes" recorded by the FBI have never been tried in court. Rather, most are nothing but police reports concerning verbal acts of "intimidation" and petty vandalism.

Yes, hate remains a major problem to humanity. Yet if Congress passes LLEEA this spring, it will not be in response to a genuine emergency. Rather, phony statistics have been manipulated to create the illusion of crisis.

Hate bill will pass this spring

A minority of anti-LLEEA Republican conferees, carefully chosen by the House majority, were able to defeat the federal hate bill, Oct 8th. Yet, in a symbolic non-binding vote, the general House Republicans voted on Sept. 28th, 213 to 186 in favor of the hate bill.

This means that when the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, author of this Orwellian legislation, re-submits the hate crime bill next spring, it is sure to pass. Already, the Senate, on June 15th, voted 65 to 33, in favor of it.

Support by the House now means that the ADL can bring it in, not by the "back door" as an amendment, but boldly through the "front door" as a bill in its own right.

It is vital now that a national educational program begin to awaken Americans to the danger to free speech which is posed by the federal hate bill. Much attention has been paid to the danger to privacy which the Patriot Act contains. Yet, even Christian conservative leaders, televangelists and talk-show hosts have been virtually silent concerning a greater threat to our freedom of speech which LLEEA contains.

It is essential that patriots call the Capitol hot line at 202-224-3121 and protest.

The phone calls of outraged citizens killed the hate bill on Oct. 9th. Your protests to Congress NOW can help us do it again in the spring.