Federal "Anti-Hate" Bill, S625, Shelved By Senate

By Rev. Ted Pike

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) was nervous on June 11, 2002. The ADL-inspired "anti-hate" bill, product of at least 14 years of ADL maneuvering, was submitted for passage by the Senate. This bill, S625, "The Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act of 2001," would create a federal "anti-hate" bureaucracy in America, similar to Canada's, leading to the outlawing of verbal "intimidation" of homosexuals. It would create a new federal justice system, giving the government the right to punish "thought crimes" against protected minorities, such as blacks, women, and Jews.

S625, however, is a very shaky bill. It has no basis in reality. It is a solution in search of a problem. According to federal statistics, alleged "hate crimes" constitute only about 1/10 of one per cent of actual crimes committed yearly. Thus, there is no compelling crisis which could justify the massive invasion of states' rights in law enforcement which S625 mandates. To get it passed by the Senate, backers Sen. Gordon Smith, Sen. Ted Kennedy, and Sen. Tom Daschle had to be clever. They requested limited discussion by the Senate. They dared not allow its flaws to be dramatized by the Republican opposition.

Also, they were fearful because Republicans had made it clear they intended to add many amendments, diluting the federal government powers to invade states rights.

The Democrats made a fatal mistake. Their deviousness only incited Republican senators such as Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona, Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, and Sen. Trent Lott of Mississippi, to marshal arguments against S625 and loudly demand unlimited debate. Thus, the "thought police" conspirators were forced to put the proposal of unlimited debate to a vote. The Senate approved unlimited debate.

Yet despite their victory, Republicans were disappointed. Instead of allowing extended criticism and inviting media coverage, which would alert the Senate and the public to the dangers of S625, Senate Majority Leader Daschle shelved the bill altogether.

Public Outcry

No elected representative wants to vote against an anti-hate bill and give the impression of being "pro-hate." As a result, for the past twelve years on both state and federal levels, legislators routinely passed anti-hate laws. This year, S625 would surely have passed the Senate as it did in 2000 (later rejected by the House), if public outrage in the form of letters had not encouraged the Republicans to fight. Jim Tucker, American Free Press writer, told me various Capitol Hill sources commented on the large number and high quality of anti-S625 letters received by legislators.

Largely as a result of anti-S625 efforts over the last 18 months, prompted by the National Prayer Network, and assisted by many individuals and organizations, there was a new, unheard-of fight among the Senate Republicans. In spite of almost complete absence of warning against S625 this last year by Christian conservative organizations (also afraid of being viewed as "pro-hate"), NPN's powerful 80 minute video, "Hate Laws: Making Criminals of Christians" was very widely distributed, educating tens of thousands concerning S625's imminent threat to freedom of speech.

NPN also mailed its gripping brochure "How S625 Will End Free Speech" to virtually every member of Congress, plus an average of eight members of their legislative staff, plus all state legislators and governors, plus staffs, in America. Yet, without your brief, informed letters to your federal legislators, S625 would probably have passed. It may still pass later this year, when the ADL, lurking behind such lackeys as Ted Kennedy, Tom Daschle, and Gordon Smith, plans to re-introduce it, probably attaching it to a spending bill.

We Are Winning!

Many well-meaning, yet discouraged patriots no longer believe their letters to elected representatives are taken seriously. The shelving of S625, preserving free speech in America, proves that Americans can make a difference. We can hold back evil - at least in our time.

It is vital that, having set back the "thought police" by perhaps a year, we preserve the ground we have gained: Here's how:

First, write your federal legislators, encouraging them to vote again against S625 the next time it is introduced.

Second, Purchase NPN's video, "Hate Laws: Making Criminals of Christians." Show it as widely as possible. The best exposure is through your local Public Access Cable TV Station. If you lend them your video, the station is obligated to show it repeatedly for weeks, before tens of thousands, and there is nothing the ADL can do to get it off the air!

Patriots still have a window of opportunity to prevent federal hate laws in America. Hundreds have stepped into the gap this year. Many more need to do so in the months ahead by writing to their legislators.

We have proved that history can be changed. Please help us keep changing it!