April 17, 2009

Hate Crimes Vote Next Week

Dr. Gary Cass began in ministry preaching the Gospel as he worked with the persecuted church in the Soviet Union. For twenty years he served as a pastor in the San Diego area and is a minister in the Presbyterian Church in America. In 2004, he became the Executive Director of The Center for Reclaiming America for Christ, an outreach of Dr. D. James Kennedy's Coral Ridge Ministries. Dr. Cass is the author of Gag Order and co-author of The Bible and the Black Board, and has appeared in national and regional TV, radio and print media including ABC News and the Washington Post. He is currently President of the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission.

U.S. Representative Barney Frank announced that the House Judiciary Committee will be considering HR 1913, The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, the week of April 20th. U.S. Representative John Conyers of Michigan introduced the bill into the House on April 2. As of Tuesday it already had 42 co-sponsors.

The problem with hate crimes legislation efforts such as HR 1913, is that they go beyond providing equal protection under the law, to adding additional penalties based upon assumed beliefs or thoughts. This can lead to discrimination against religious views, and Gary points out that this is already taking place in Canada.

More Information

Christian Anti-Defamation Commission (either URL will get you to their website):
http://www.christianadc.org
http://www.defendchristians.org
866-508-2232

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Action Points

To contact the House Judiciary Committee regarding the "Hate Crimes" bill, HR 1913, the toll-free number is: 877-851-6437

Representative John Conyers
202-225-5126

LaMar Smith, the ranking minority leader can be contacted at:
202-225-4236

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202-225-3121