Faith Under Fire.....
Appeals court asked to remove bull's-eye from Christians - 'Hate
crimes' law challenged for cracking down on biblical beliefs
Posted: December 09, 2010
10:06 pm Eastern
By Bob Unruh
President Obama's "hate crimes" law, one of the president's early
fulfillments of a campaign promise to homosexual lobbyists who backed
his 2008 campaign, is heading for dangerous new waters as a lawsuit
challenging it as being unconstitutional has moved to the appellate
court level.
Officials with the Thomas More Law Center say they have appealed their
lawsuit over the "hate crimes" law to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals, raising pointed questions including why will the law attack
Bible-following Christians who follow its instructions.
"According to the Bible, which Plaintiffs promote through their
religious activities, homosexual acts are acts of grave depravity that
are intrinsically disordered. The Apostle Paul, writing by inspiration
of the Holy Spirit, declares that those who engage in homosexual acts
'shall not inherit the kingdom of God,' stating further, 'And such were
some of you…,'" the appeal explains.
"Plaintiffs believe and profess that homosexuality is an illicit lust
forbidden by God, who said to His people Israel, 'Thou shalt not lie
with mankind, as with womankind; it is abomination.' In every place
that the Bible refers to homosexuality, the emphasis is upon the
perversion of sexuality. The person engaging in homosexual behavior is
guilty of 'leaving the natural use of the woman,' meaning that his
behavior is 'against nature,' and thus contrary to God's will."
"In Old Testament times in Israel, God dealt severely with those who
engaged in homosexual behavior. He warned His people through Moses, 'If
a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them
have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their
blood shall be upon them," the appeal continued.
"Consequently, Plaintiffs have 'willfully' engaged in, and will
continue to 'willfully' engage in, conduct that is proscribed by the
Hate Crimes Act because the Act does not limit its reach to physical
acts of violence, but expressly includes within its reach so-called
'hate' speech and 'hateful words," thereby subjecting plaintiffs to
federal investigation and punishment."
The lawsuit, which has been endorsed by U.S. Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa,
was brought on behalf of Gary Glenn, president of the American Family
Association of Michigan, and Pastors Levon Yuille, Rene Ouellette and
James Combs.
It was dismissed by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of
Michigan after Attorney General Eric Holder claimed the court lacked
subject matter jurisdiction and the plaintiffs failed to state a claim
upon which relief could be granted.
The complaint contends that the "hate crimes" law violates the
plaintiffs' civil rights, since it opens Christians to being the target
of federal investigations, grand juries and even charges for opposing
or publicly criticizing the homosexual lifestyle and "gay" activism.
The plaintiffs in the lawsuit include individuals who already have
faced accusations by homosexual advocates that they bear responsibility
for the actions of others for no other reason than their agreement with
biblical condemnations of homosexuality.
The lawsuit cited the death of Andrew Anthos, a 72-year-old Detroit man
allegedly the victim of a "hate crime" because of his "sexual
orientation." In that case, the executive director of the National Gay
and Lesbian Task Force "blamed … Plaintiff Glenn's 'homophobic rants'
for causing his death."
According to the lawsuit, the homosexual activist said, "It is
appalling hypocrisy for these forces to pretend that their venomous
words and organizing have no connection to the plague of hate violence
against gay people, including the murder of Mr. Anthos."
Anthos also was cited by Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., as evidence of the
need to extend federal "hate crimes" legislation to include "sexual
orientation" as a privileged classification.
But the lawsuit said police and a medical examiner determined that
Anthos died of natural causes.
The complaint also said, "The former director of policy for the
Triangle Foundation, a Michigan-based homosexual lobby group that
supported the Hate Crimes Act, publicly stated, 'We personally believe
that the AFA may support the murder of gay, lesbian, and bisexual
people.'"
Such statements, combined with the "hate crimes" law that now exists,
provide a "tool" of intimidation for federal officials, including
Holder, "to abuse their positions of power to stifle political opinion
and opposition to the homosexual agenda," the complaint explains.
"The Hate Crimes Act was clearly intended to intimidate Christians and
their religious leaders into remaining silent concerning their
religious beliefs that homosexual conduct is an abomination and a sin,"
the law center said today.
Its brief tells the 6th Circuit, "This statute is all about elevating
certain persons (homosexuals) to a protected class under federal law
based on nothing more than their choice to have sex with persons of the
same gender, while marginalizing strong religious opposition to this
immoral choice."
In fact, during congressional debate on the issue, supporters admitted
that a homosexual attacking a Christian pastor would be protected from
the law's enhanced penalties that would apply should a Christian pastor
attack a homosexual.
"Under the guise of enforcing 'niceness' and promoting 'tolerance,'
homosexual advocacy groups have mobilized their financial power to
purchase political clout which they now use to shut down any criticism
of their deviant lifestyle. The truth is they are one of the most
intolerant groups in our society and viciously attack anyone who
opposes their point of view," said Richard Thompson, chief of the law
center.
"The sole purpose of this law is to use the threat of federal
prosecutions and long jail sentences to silence Christians from
expressing their Biblically based religious belief that homosexual
conduct is an abomination and a sin."
The center confirmed that statistics from homosexual advocacy groups
reveal that the greatest threat of violence to homosexuals comes not
from Christians but from other homosexuals.
The brief also explains how the attacks on Christians already are being
strategized.
At a forum for the homosexual community held by the ACLU of Michigan,
Barbara McQuade, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of
Michigan, stated, "We're very eager to enforce the act."
The brief says another federal prosecutor said, "We are so excited
about this new law and the enforcement possibilities it provides for
us."
Robert Muise, the senior trial counsel for the law center, is handling
the case, and said, "This new federal law promotes two Orwellian
concepts. First, it creates a special class of persons who are 'more
equal than others' based on nothing more than deviant, sexual behavior.
And secondly, it creates 'thought crimes' by criminalizing certain
ideas, beliefs, and opinions, and the involvement of such ideas,
beliefs, and opinions in a crime will make it deserving of federal
prosecution. Consequently, government officials are claiming the power
to decide which thoughts are criminal under federal law and which are
not."
The law center revealed that all 50 states already have criminal laws
punishing violence against others, Holder himself admitted there is no
evidence "hate crimes" were unpunished at the state level, and in 2008,
of the 1.38 million violent crimes reported, 243 dealt with the
victim's sexual orientation.
The Hate Crimes Act was dubbed by its critics as the "Pedophile
Protection Act" after an amendment to explicitly prohibit pedophiles
from being protected by the act was defeated by majority Democrats. In
fact, during congressional debate, supporters argued that all
"philias," or alternative sexual lifestyles, should be protected.
Yuille is the pastor of The Bible Church in Michigan and national
director of the National Black Pro-Life Congress. He hosts a radio
program and "is often warned by his Canadian listeners that he will
prosecuted under the new U.S. hate-crimes law for his public ministry."
Ouellette is pastor of First Baptist in Bridgeport, Mich., with about
7,000 members, and the author of five books.
Combs is lead pastor of Faith Church, The Point Church, The Rock Church
and The River Church, with about 10,000 members.
Obama signed the "Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes
Prevention Act" in October 2009 after Democrats strategically attached
it to a "must-pass" $680 billion defense-appropriations bill.
The law cracks down on any acts that could be linked to criticism of
homosexuality or even the "perception" of homosexuality. As Congress
debated it, there were assurances it would not be used to crack down on
speech.
Obama boasted about the "hate crimes" bill when he signed it into law.
"After more than a decade, we've passed inclusive hate-crimes
legislation to help protect our citizens from violence based on what
they look like, who they love, how they pray or who they are," he said.
The bill signed by Obama was opposed by the U.S. Commission on Civil
Rights, which called it a "menace" to civil liberties. The commission
argued the law allows federal authorities to bring charges against
individuals even if they've already been cleared in a state court.