The Gaytheist Agenda

The prevalence of hate-crimes should not be news to any of my readers. I blog about it routinely. There is a new report out, however, that indicates a hate crime occurs every hour in the US–more than 7,500 such crimes per year.

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“In the nearly twenty years since the 1990 enactment of the Hate Crime Statistics Act (HCSA), the number of hate crimes reported has consistently ranged around 7,500 or more annually — that’s nearly one every hour of every day,” says a new study by the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Education Fund (LCCREF), the research arm of the oldest and largest civil rights coalition in the United States. “Violence committed against individuals because of their race, religion, ethnicity, national origin, gender, gender identity, or sexual orientation remains a serious problem.”

The report expresses particular concern for the rising number of hate crimes committed against Hispanics and those perceived to be immigrants, which LCCREF says is closely correlated to the increasingly intense debate over U.S. immigration reform and “anti-immigrant vitriol on radio, television, and the Internet.” According to LCCREF, inflammatory rhetoric by high-profile national media personalities and groups opposing immigration reform “veers dangerously close to — and too often crosses the line beyond — civil discourse over contentious immigration policy issues.”

Findings also indicate that the increasing demonization of immigrants, combined with the economic downturn and the election of the United States’ first Africa-American president, have fueled a significant surge in white supremacist groups. Extremists have relied largely on the Internet to grow their ranks and organize attacks.

Moreover, hate crimes committed against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals have risen to their highest level in five years, notes the report, Confronting the New Faces of Hate: Hate Crimes in America 2009.

“All Americans have a stake in reducing hate crimes,” writes LCCREF, emphasizing the urgent need for a comprehensive nationwide effort to halt bias-motivated violence. “These crimes are intended to intimidate not only the individual victim, but all members of the victim’s community, and even members of other communities historically victimized by hate. By making these victims and communities fearful, angry, and suspicious of other groups — and of the authorities who are charged with protecting them — these incidents fragment and isolate our communities, tearing apart the interwoven fabric of American society.”
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The marked increase in hate violence against Hispanics correlates closely with the increasingly heated debate over Comprehensive Immigration Reform and an escalation in the level of anti-immigrant vitriol on radio, television, and the Internet. Warned an April 2009 assessment from the Office of Intelligence and Analysis at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), “in some cases, anti-immigration or strident pro-enforcement fervor has been directed against specific groups and has the potential to turn violent.” As inflammatory rhetoric targets immigrants at the same time that the number of hate crimes against Hispanics and others perceived to be immigrants steadily increases, a heightened sense of fear has gripped Hispanic and other minority communities around the country.

In one of the most disturbing developments of recent years, some groups opposing immigration reform, such as the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), and NumbersUSA, have inflamed the immigration debate by invoking the dehumanizing, racist stereotypes and bigotry of hate groups. While these seemingly “legitimate” advocates against illegal immigration are frequently quoted in the mainstream media, have been called to testify before Congress, and often hold meetings with lawmakers and other public figures, their virulently anti-immigrant rhetoric veers dangerously close to - and too often crosses the line beyond - civil discourse over contentious immigration policy issues.
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Fear and vilification of immigrants has combined with the worst economic downturn in decades and the election of the first African-American president to cause a surge in the activity of white supremacist groups. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), the number of hate groups operating in the United States increased more than four percent in 2008 and has grown by 54 percent since 2000. “Barack Obama’s election has inflamed racist extremists who see it as another sign that their country is under siege by non-whites,” said Mark Potok, editor of the Intelligence Report published by the SPLC. “The idea of a black man in the White House, combined with the deepening economic crisis and continuing high levels of Latino immigration, has given white supremacists a real platform on which to recruit.”
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Eliminating the prejudice that underlies hate crimes requires that Americans develop respect for cultural differences and establish dialogue across racial, ethnic, cultural, and religious boundaries. Education, awareness, and acceptance of group differences are the cornerstones of a long-term solution to prejudice, discrimination, and bigotry. Hate crime laws and effective responses to hate violence by public officials and law enforcement authorities can play an essential role in deterring and preventing these crimes, creating a healthier and stronger society for all Americans.

All Americans have a stake in reducing hate crimes. These crimes are intended to intimidate not only the individual victim, but all members of the victim’s community, and even members of other communities historically victimized by hate. By making these victims and communities fearful, angry, and suspicious of other groups - and of the authorities who are charged with protecting them - these incidents fragment and isolate our communities, tearing apart the interwoven fabric of American society. Thus, the damage done by hate crimes cannot be measured solely in terms of physical injury or dollars and cents. For these reasons and more, hate crimes demand a priority response from governmental authorities.
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Anti-LGBT violence has increased significantly in NY (as it did here recently in CA). I imagine this trend will continue across the nation.

Following a gay pride weekend marked by hate-motivated violence, advocates in New York City planned a press conference on Wednesday morning to discuss a new report showing increased severity of crimes against LGBT people in 2008, despite a 12% fall in the overall number of crimes in the city.

According to the New York City Anti-Violence Project, the 2008 anti-LGBT hate violence report documents that 17% of the nation’s 29 anti-LGBT murders last year — or five homicides — occurred in the city. Sexual assault against LGBT individuals in New York City rose by 171%, and the use of weapons in the commission of hate crimes also rose.
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The “moral values” crowd has all but dropped the “we love everyone” facade and is once again showing its true colors, and it isn’t pretty. In fact it’s downright terrifying. People shouldn’t have to suffer and die over the chosen personal bigotries of others.

 
Related posts:
RRRW Actively Supports Bullying of LGBT Students.

Anti-LGBT Hate Crimes Highest Since 1999.

 

According to a report released today by the The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs anti-gay hate crimes are at their highest rate since 1999. This increase is apparently part of a multi-year trend.

The number of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people killed in bias-motivated incidents increased by 28 percent in 2008 compared to the previous year, said The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs.
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The coalition claims its figures are more accurate than those from law enforcement agencies. The group says the FBI, for example, doesn’t record bias crimes against transgender people because gender identity isn’t covered by federal hate-crime law.

Looking specifically at Minnesota, the NCAVP report reveals:
• 185% increase in the number of violent incidents
• 20% increase in the number of incidents involving multiple offenders, with a 225% increase in incidents involving four or more offenders
• 40% of victims required emergency-room or other hospital care as a result of attacks
• 29% increase in the number of violent incidents directed at transgender men, and 113% increase in those directed at transgender women

“These data show that violence directed at GLBT people continues to become more brutal and more likely perpetrated by groups rather than individual assailants,” Kloek said. “We must continue this vital work to create safe streets, homes and workplaces. Unfortunately, our community must continue to be aware of its vulnerability to hate and bias related violence. We must demand that the larger community and its justice systems hold perpetrators accountable for their actions.”
The report, fact sheets and maps can be accessed at: NCAVP or AVP

 
A few excerpts from the report which I highly suggest you read in full (PDF format):

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“No on 8” Backlash
―No on 8‖ backlash - CUAV tracked and received a high number of hate violence incidents of anti-gay marriage‖ backlash. Extremely well-funded anti-gay legislation, combined with ―Yes on 8‖ rallies and groups of people harassing LGBTQIQ communities leading up to election day and anti-gay hate violence harassment at the voting polls on November 4th increased CUAV‘s hate violence numbers tremendously. Incidents reported to CUAV ranged from LGBT folks and Heterosexual allies experienced being almost hit with cars by ―Yes on 8‖ protestors, spit upon, yelled at with anti-gay epithets, death threats, bitten, struck several times with ―Yes on 8‖ signs. Community United Against Violence (CUAV) worked collaboratively in an event for LBGTQQ/Same-Gender-Loving/Two Spirit people of color and their allies who were on the front-lines of the struggle against Prop 8, and also for those who feel marginalized by the white-washed marriage equality movement. Sessions focusing on mind-body-spirit healing of the individual and collective trauma and distress were offered. All of these crea-tive partnerships and cross-community conversations were intended to help heal the pain that Prop 8 has inflicted on our diverse queer communities.
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Lesbian couple, suburban
Instead of compassionate medical treatment, a Grand Rapids lesbian couple received a “lifestyle” lecture from a Spectrum Hospital physician in March of 2008. When the couple, who had been married in Canada, went to Spectrum Health for treatment of one partner’s lingering cold, the physician responded by asking the couple’s opinion on ―their‖ recent California Supreme Court marriage decision. He then told the couple that he was a Christian and there was no way that what they had could be called a marriage.
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Gay, male high school student, rural
A young gay man suffered constant, ongoing persecution at a Christian high school in west Michigan. The abuse he endured included everything from being called anti-gay slurs to being beaten with a ruler in the hallways to a dead cat and an obscene note being left on his car. Triangle Foundation and the American Civil Liberties Union provided support to the young man and his mother, while challenging the school to implement harassment policies that better protect students.
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Steven Parrish, 18, a Black gay man
On March 3, 2008, Steven Parrish, a young gay man, was stabbed and stomped to death by gang mem-bers Steven T. Hollis, 18, and Juan L. Flythe, 17, who discovered text messages and pictures on Parrish’s cell phone they believed indicated he was gay. Parrish, 18, lived with his parents in Woodmore, MD. He attended Randallstown High School, and was four days away from graduation when he was killed. Hollis and Flythe feared that their gang would appear weak to others if it became known that they had a gay member. Hollis and Flythe were both arrested and charged with first degree murder on August 15, 2008.
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Sanesha Stuart, 25, a Black Transgender woman
On February 9, 2008, Sanesha Stuart, a transgender woman, was stabbed to death by Steven McMillan, who was still in Sanesha‘s apartment at the time the police arrived. After finding out Sanesha was a transgender woman, McMillan flew into a rage which led to her demise. McMillan was indicted with manslaughter in the 1st degree but not murder. Sanesha was loved by all in her building.
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Law enforcement abuse and misconduct was up 113% in 2008, with law enforcement misconduct incidents increasing from 40 to 85.
Law enforcement responded with the following reported attitudes:
*courteous: 48 in 2007 compared with 59 in 2008
*indifferent: 20 in 2008 compared with 22 in 2008
*verbally abusive, no slurs: 7 in 2007 to 11 in 2008
*verbally abusive, with slurs: 1 in 2007 to 5 in 2008
* physically abusive, no slurs: 2 in 2007 to 6 in 2008
*physically abusive with slurs: 2 in 2006 to 5 in 2008
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What can I say that I haven’t already said on this matter?

 
Related posts:

Anti-Gay Legislation = Anti-Gay Violence. Marriage Equality Activist Allegedly Beaten in San Diego County.

More Faith-Based Hysterics and Lies About the Hate Crimes Bill.

Santa Clara County D.A.: Prop 8 Responsible for Anti-gay Violence

Seattle : Hate-Crime Charges Filed in Anti-Gay Attack.

Won’t Somebody Please Think of the Children?

Galveston : 3 Charged in Anti-Gay Hate-Crime.

 

Yet another transgender woman was shot in Memphis for the “crime” of being transgender.

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Police say they have arrested an 18-year-old man who shot a transgender woman because the victim misrepresented herself about her gender. Terron Taylor was taken into custody Friday after he shot Kelvin Denton in the neck and nose at the Peppertree Apartments near Graceland, My Fox Memphis reported Tuesday.

Denton was found near the Whitehaven Community Center and taken to The Med for medical attention where she remains in critical condition.

Last year, violence against three transgender women – Leeneshia Edwards, Ebony Whitaker and Duanna Johnson – made headlines after following the shooting death of Tiffany Berry in 2006.
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Meanwhile the bigots continue to scream that LGBT people don’t need or deserve to have the same hate-crimes protections they currently enjoy, and peddle anti-LGBT legislation to boot, all of which helps to ensure there will be more hate-crimes against people like Kelvin Denton .

 

Here we go again. Faith2Action, which bills itself as “the nation’s largest network of pro-family groups”, (pro-family being code for “we hate gays and we think we have the right to define what a family is for the entire nation”), has joined the fracas over the Hate Crimes Bill. They make the same false claims that pastors will be imprisoned for preaching the Bible, and this new (and utterly ridiculous) one:

An individual could be charged with one for simply resisting the actions or advances of a homosexual or lesbian.

Once again they want to pretend the bill addresses something beyond violent crimes. If one is “simply resisting” the actions or advances of a person they aren’t using violence, and this law wouldn’t apply. If they’re resorting to violence where clearly none is warranted they should be prosecuted, which is why so many bigots are running scared at the idea of this law going into place. (I can almost feel some people quivering at the notion that their cherished gay panic defense will die a well-deserved death in the near future).

If, on the other hand, a gay person is acting violently toward them and they act with a reasonable amount of self-defensive behavior toward that individual this law wouldn’t apply. The law doesn’t give LGBT people special immunity from prosecution, nor does it mean that nobody can ever touch them. The RRRW needs to buy a clue. Of course this “coupon” they provide proves they’re immune to them.

The typical “Grandma isn’t as valuable as a homo those homos are getting special rights” nonsense. Nothing like that to whip up animosity toward LGBT people and hatred for any bill that might give us rights. So why aren’t they worried that if Joe Blow kicks the crap out of Bob the Reverend he’ll get a stronger sentence than Carl who bludgeons Grandma? Oh, that’s right–because Bob the Reverend is religious.

The “Fact Sheet” they provide (PDF) format is even more ridiculous. That they can get away with calling it a “fact sheet” astounds me. Here are some of the gems included:

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B. The bill includes the terms “Gender, Sexual Orientation, and Gender Identity” – ambiguous terms that the drafters of the bill have refused to define.
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Federal hate crimes legislation doesn’t define “religion”, which is also a very ambiguous term. After you break the major systems into denominations there are thousands of different religions. Even within each sect–or a single congregation–you’ll find different definitions of what “religion” is if you do a survey. So how dare they claim sexual orientation and gender identity are “ambiguous” and undefined?

Citizens for Community Values President Phil Burress provides this insight on the phrase
“sexual orientation.” What does it mean?

“In 1993, Charlie Winburn, then a Cincinnati City Councilman, became the first in the nation to raise this question – because it had been used in piece of local, special rights legislation. Winburn found that the term could include a variety of bizarre sexual behaviors. Here are just a few:
• Incest – sex with one’s offspring (a crime, of course)
• Necrophilia – sexual relations with a corpse, also a crime
• Pedophilia – sex with an underage child, another crime
• Zoophilia – bestiality, a crime in numerous states
• Voyeurism – a criminal offense in most states
• Fronteurism – which involves a man approaching an unknown woman and rubbing up against her buttocks
• Coprophilia – sexual arousal from feces
• Urophilia – sexual arousal from urine

Lies, lies, lies. None of these are sexual orientations though many of the RRRW groups are parroting this nonsense in an attempt to terrify their sheep into screaming for Congress to vote against HR 1913. They’re also hoping members of Congress will be so ignorant as to fall for these lies.

The list above is a list of Paraphilias, with the exception of incest which as described there is sexual abuse of a child.

A paraphilia is a sexual problem where the sexual arousal is in response to objects or stimuli not associated with normal sexual behavior patterns and that may interfere with the establishment of normal sexual relationships.

Paraphilias are not covered by HR 1913 nor has anybody made any attempt to have them covered by any hate crimes legislation. But the RRRW has never let facts get in the way of anti-LGBT propaganda.

And just what do they mean by gender identity? Americans for Truth President Peter LaBarbera says that “You would practically need a PhD., to keep up with the ever-expanding array of gender identities that fall under the ‘T’ umbrella in the ‘GLBT’ (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender) equation.”

I wonder what sort of degree I’d need to keep up with the 2,850+ gods and the who knows how many religions/denominations out there. But you don’t see me screaming for the Hate Crimes legislation that protects religious people to be eradicated, do you? Then again I have more compassion and morality than certain “faith-based”, religious individuals do.

Faith2Action President Janet (Folger) Porter writes, “When paired with existing law (Title 18 of the U.S. Criminal Code) this bill would unmistakably criminalize free speech. It specifically targets anyone who dissents to the homosexual agenda as aiding in the commission of a crime, making them ‘punishable as a principal.’”

Right. Just like the law prohibiting hate crimes against people based on their religion eradicates my right to free speech. Now watch me commit a hate crime against religion and lets see how long it takes for the Thought Police to descend upon me.

In my opinion RRRW fundamentalist Christianity is one of the most heinous, hateful, perverted systems that has ever descended upon the United States of America. It causes severe and lasting psychological, spiritual, physical and intellectual damage to millions across the nation. The Black Plague was kind to humanity by comparison.

The clock is ticking…….

 

Despite the hideous lies and fearmongering of the RRRW, including outrageous claims that Matthew Shepard’s death was “a hoax”, the House of Representatives passed HR 1913 by a wide margin!

The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, also known as the Mathew Shepard Hate Crimes Act, passed the U.S. House of Representatives with a 249 to 175 vote. A total of 231 Democrats voted in favor of the legislation with 17 voting against, while 18 Republicans voted for the legislation with 158 voting against, according to Stonewall Democrats.

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This description comes from HRC:

During debate on hate crimes legislation taking place today on the floor of the United States House of Representatives, Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) claimed that Matthew Shepard’s death was “a hoax.” While Matthew’s mother, Judy Shepard looked on from the House gallery, Foxx, who managed the floor for those opposed to the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, spoke saying, “the hate crimes bill that’s called the Matthew Shepard Bill is named after a very unfortunate incident that happened where a young man was killed, but we know that that young man was killed in the commitment of a robbery. It wasn’t because he was gay. This – the bill was named for him, hate crimes bill was named for him, but it’s really a hoax that that continues to be used as an excuse for passing these bills.”

You have to love those Republicans and their “family values”. Nothing screams “morality” like supporting violent crimes against people just because you think they’re icky. Watch some of their antics yourself, courtesy of Think Progress.

The bill now goes to the Senate where it is anticipated voting will be close. Hopefully, though, the Senate will do the right thing, as the House did.

 

Related posts:

The Hate Crimes Bill, Critical and Long Overdue.

Hate Crimes Bill Gets OK By House Judiciary Committee. RRRW Goes Berserk.

 

The House Judiciary Committee voted 15-12 Thursday on a bill that would amend the federal hate crimes law to include LGBT individuals. As I’ve said before this merely adds LGBT people to the list of others who are already protected by that legislation. But of course the RRRWers are rending their garments, and lying through their teeth.

 
From WorldNutDaily

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“Instead of treating all crime victims equally, it creates a caste system where select groups, such as gays and lesbians, are given greater priority in the criminal justice system. This is not progress; it is political correctness. In other nations and states, the adoption of hate crimes legislation has been the first step toward widespread suppression of speech and ideas critical of homosexuality,” he said.
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Um, no it doesn’t. LGBT people are being given the same protections others are. We’re merely being added to the federal hate crimes statute that already protects people on the basis of their religion, race, ethnicity, disability and other characteristics. But then that’s what bigots really can’t stand is LGBT people being treated equally. They want a caste system, but with us at the bottom.

 
OneNewsNow provides its spin on the matter:

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Congressman Steve King (R-Iowa) told Democratic members that “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” are vague terms that need to be specifically defined since courts will be analyzing those terms.
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While you’re at it have them define “religious” and “faith” since they’ll be analyzing those terms and you’re constantly asking for special exemptions to every law on the books based on your “faith” and “religious beliefs”.

 
Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council says:

This measure would allow the federal government, for the first time ever, to prosecute any violent crime anywhere in the country that “is motivated by prejudice” against a number of protected characteristics, including “sexual orientation” and “gender identity.”

Liar. Hate crimes legislation goes back as far as 1979 (in MA) with a federal statute which protected people on the basis of of a person’s race, color, religion, or nation origin being implemented in 1999. Hate crimes legislation is nothing new, and to pretend it’s all about LGBT people is disingenuous at best. Perkins blathers on:

“Additionally, this poorly-worded legislation shows contempt for the moral and religious views of millions of Americans by including ’sexual orientation’ and ‘gender identity’ as protected categories at a time when a large plurality of our fellow citizens rejects the implied meaning of those labels. The bill sends a message that disapproval of homosexual behavior alone - even if expressed peacefully and lovingly - constitutes a form of ‘hate’ that is equivalent to racial bigotry.

The bill addresses violent crimes. If your idea of “loving disapproval of homosexual behavior” involves violent crimes against LGBT people you should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Furthermore illogical and baseless bigotry against LGBT people does constitute a form of hate that is equivalent to racial bigotry. Hiding it behind your “deeply held religious beliefs” doesn’t hold water with me or most rational people even if it does make you look like an upstanding guy with “a large plurality of your fellow citizens”. Some 50 years ago a large plurality of fellow citizens thought racism was acceptable but that didn’t make it right.

 
Then there’s Rev. Michael Bresciani who is…well just read and see:

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H.R. 1913 nearly proposes that anyone who thinks something is repulsive or repugnant will move to destroy it. It further gives credence to the idea that if a thing was destroyed the destroy-ee had to have prior hatred for the thing destroyed and should suffer special penalties for the preconceived hatred as well as the physical violence done to it. This is a bill that may be crafted on the premise of ‘cuckoo is, as cuckoo does’ but it would not stand the scrutiny of a serious comparison to the freedoms allowed under the first amendment.
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If H.R. 1913 is to be taken seriously it goes beyond even thought policing and passes up to the level of ‘feeling policing.’ Here is the question; what’s next, facial expression policing, regurgitation causes policing and yucky feeling policing? Have our lawmakers become the purveyors of silliness; sadly the answer is probably yes.
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I know I have a yucky feeling after reading that nonsense.

I’ll just reiterate. Heterosupremacists have nothing to fear from HR 1913. They can still preach that gay sex is evil, perverted, sinful, etc. They can still proclaim that gays are going to burn in hell for eternity. They won’t be penalized in any way for that because HR 1913 does not address speech or, despite the lies of many, thought. HR 1913 addresses violent crime.

So unless their notion of “religious liberty” is something like beating, shooting, gang-raping, or beating and threatening to kill gay/transgender people because they’re gay/transgender you need not worry about HR 1913. If any of those are your notion of “religious liberty” you belong behind bars. In fact you belong in hell. The Satanist’s version of hell. If you don’t know what that is I’m sure Ebon would be glad to explain it to you.

 

It has been more than ten years since Matthew Shepard was tied to a fence, beaten and left to die on a cold Wyoming night because he was gay. Since then his mother has been fighting for LGBT people to be afforded hate crimes protection.

According to FBI data, in 2007 there were 1,512 hate crimes against LGBT people. However since many cities and states don’t collect such data and even actively discourage reporting the figures are certainly much higher. Furthermore given that passage of anti-gay legislation leads to surges in anti-gay hate crimes, the figures for 2008 will undoubtedly be higher. In one CA county alone (Santa Clara) , hate crimes against gay people went from 15% in 2007 to 56% in 2008, which the DA attributed to the passage of Proposition 8.

2008 saw several high profile anti-gay hate crimes including:
*Angie Zapata, who was brutally beaten to death with a fire extinguisher when her partner discovered she was transgender.
*Lawrence King, a gay boy who was gender non-conforming, shot and killed in school by a classmate.
*Jose and Romel Sucuzhanay went to a church party and stopped at a bar afterward. They were viciously beaten by three men who hurled anti-gay and anti-Latino slurs at them. They’re just two of the many non-LGBT victims of homophobia. (Jose and Romel are brothers.) Anti-gay bigotry harms everybody, not just gay people.

 


 
Of course the usual suspects are feeding their minions, and the public, vile lies about hate crimes protections for LGBT individuals. Take this propaganda piece from Matt Barber, mouthpiece for Liberty Counsel, the legal group dedicated to protecting the “right” of the RRRW to run roughshod over the nation.

Rep. John Conyers (D-Michigan) and Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Illinois) have quietly re-introduced the federal thought crimes bill, H.R. 1913, the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009. As has proved to be true in both Europe and Canada, this Orwellian piece of legislation is the direct precursor to freedom killing and speech chilling “hate speech” laws. It represents a thinly veiled effort to ultimately silence – under penalty of law – morally, medically and biblically based opposition to the homosexual lifestyle. The bill is expected to be marked up Wednesday before the full House Judiciary Committee.

Notice Barber makes these outlandish proclamations about the law and expects you to take him at his word. He calls it a “thought crimes” law when it is in actuality a “hate crimes” bill. He goes on to proclaim it will lead to the Bible and Biblical beliefs being outlawed. That’s all pure fabrication of course as there is nothing remotely of the kind in the law. Of course I don’t expect you to take me at my word. Read the bill yourself.

According to the latest FBI statistics, in 2007 there were about 1.4 million violent crimes committed in the U.S. Of those, only 1,512 were reported as “hate crimes” motivated by “sexual orientation” bias. Over two thirds of those were allegations of “hateful” words, touching, intimidation, pushing or shoving. There were a mere 247 cases of aggravated assault (including five deaths) allegedly motivated by “sexual orientation” bias nationwide. In each case, where appropriate, offenders were prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and victims were afforded the exact same justice guaranteed every other American.

Let me play the Matt Barber’s game so you can see how vile it really is:
According to the latest FBI statistics, in 2007 there were about 1.4 million violent crimes in the US. Of those, only 1,628 were reported as “hate crimes” motivated by “anti-religious” bias. And a tiny fraction of those alleged victims–137 individuals–were “Christians”. They should really stop whining.

Why do they always try to make it a numbers game? Do they realize how depraved and heartless they sound by saying “only” so many GLBT people got brutally attacked/killed last year so they don’t warrant attention or protection?

BTW, when Matt Barber claims LGBT people are afforded the exact same protection every other American is afforded he fails to mention that he is afforded hate crimes protection based on the fact that he is a Christian. Funny how he always fails to mention that. The federal government and nearly every state in the union affords people hate crimes protection based on religion, race, ethnicity, disability and a host of other attributes. And if Barber considers hate crimes legislation “thought crimes laws” why isn’t he screaming for them all to be eradicated?

So, if proponents of H.R. 1913 are neither justified nor motivated by an actual need for the bill – as clearly demonstrated – then what drives them? The answer is twofold. First, passage of “hate crimes” legislation would place the behaviorally driven and fluid concepts of “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” on an equal footing with legitimate, neutral and immutable “suspect class” characteristics such as skin color or a person’s true gender.

What about that protected “religion” class? People join and leave religions every day–Christians capitalize on this fact by proselytizing and sending out missionaries. People gain and lose faith in god(s) from minute to minute. If anything is fluid it is faith and religion. Religion is clearly a choice, and not in any way immutable, yet it is protected by federal and state hate crimes statutes.

Or is Matt Barber suggesting religious individuals, by his own criteria and logic, not have hate crimes protections?

 


 

This creates both a sociopolitical and legal environment wherein traditional sexual morality officially becomes the new racism. Those who publically express medical, moral or religious opposition to the homosexual lifestyle are tagged by the government as “homophobic bigots” to be treated no differently by law enforcement, the courts or larger society than the KKK or neo-Nazis.

Is Matt as obtuse as he seems to be or is he just hoping his audience will buy that insanity? “The Government” doesn’t care if you want to call gay people perverts, say we’re disgusting and proclaim that we deserve to burn in hell forever compared to morally pure Christians. After all the KKK and Neo-Nazis haven’t been shut down and still spew their hateful rhetoric as much as they want to. Rest assured, anti-gay bigots, you’ll still be able to preach all the homo-hating bile you want to even when the hate crimes bill is passed. All the hate crimes legislation will do is provide appropriate punishment if you commit a violent crime against one of us. If you can’t determine the difference between saying mean things and violent crime go back to school–real school–and get learned.

 
HRC has a new site, Fight Hate Now, dedicated to making H.R. 1913 a reality. Of special importance is their refutation of the myths and lies about the hate crimes bill. Fight Hate Now is a perfect companion to End the Lies, another HRC site dedicated to exposing RRRW anti-gay propaganda for what it is.

Also, Mike Tidmus deftly debunks the ever popular “They’ll put pastors in prison” lie. Be sure to read it so you can refute the lying liars who try to spread it.

 
This is not about special rights for LGBT citizens. It is about LGBT citizens having the same hate crimes protections people have based on race, religion, ethnicity, disability and other characteristics. It is about fairness and equality under the law.

Please take action. Send e-mails, and letters to your elected officials. Ask your friends and family to do the same. Make sure the lies and propaganda of the RRRW don’t win yet again. Make sure H.R. 1913 passes for the good of everybody.

 


 

More than once when a L, G, B and/or T individual has stated that they are or are not voting for a particular politician because of his/her stance on some LGBT policy the cry goes out, “How can you be such a One Issue Voter?”. Of course it’s usually the case that the individual is not voting solely because of the politician’s stance on the LGBT policy, but also because of other issues as well and is mentioning only the LGBT issue at the time. But, that aside, it’s important for everybody to realize that LGBT concerns are in no way “one issue”, so voting based on them can in no way make a person a “One Issue Voter”. Allow me to break it down for you.

 
Marriage

 
Marriage in and of itself is not one issue as it provides couples so many rights and carries so many responsibilities. It also affects any children the couples may have, thereby having broader scope than just the couple themselves. However it is largely unavailable to same-sex couples.

Same-sex couples are currently allowed to legally marry in only one state, Massachusetts. Although they are granted the same rights and benefits as other married couples under state law, they are not granted any of the more than 1100 rights and responsibilities granted to married couples by the federal government. Furthermore, their marriages are not recognized as legal outside of MA, so if they travel to another state or move their rights are in jeopardy.

Five states, CA, CT, NH, NJ, and VT, offer Civil Unions/Domestic Partnerships for same-sex couples. These unions offer ostensibly identical benefits and obligations to those of civil marriage in their states, but again none of the federal benefits of marriage. However it has been discovered repeatedly that the DPs/CUs fall short of their promises as they don’t actually provide the benefits they are supposed to. Employers, agencies, families and others have worked to avoid providing benefits to same-sex couples under DPs/CUs claiming that they’re not obligated to do so as the unions are not marriages. Hence the need for same-sex couples to have federally recognized legal marriage rather than the Colored Only drinking fountain of the 21st century known as DPs/CUs.

 
Four states (HI, ME, OR and WA) and DC offer DPs/CUs that offer portions of the rights enjoyed by married couples in their regions. Again, these unions are fraught with the same limitations as the others, in that they’re dependent upon others to comply with their stipulations and many try to get around them since they are not marriages.

Twenty six states have constitutional amendments that ban same-sex marriage outright, marking the first time in history that amendments have been used to write discrimination into constitutions. Forty three states have statutes restricting marriage to unions between a man and a woman including a number of the states that have DPs/CUs. (Some states have both a statute and a constitutional amendment barring same-sex marriage).

 
For same-sex couples who cannot marry or enter into a DP/CU, they can engage the services of a lawyer and draw up a number of documents to try to ensure that they have particular rights and privileges that opposite-sex couples would normally have. However this is often a very costly and difficult process , and may be contested by any number of people in various situations. For example it is not uncommon for one partner to be denied the right to see the other or make decisions for the other in a hospital even with Power of Attorney. When a partner dies their relatives may contest their will, making it impossible for the surviving partner to collect benefits left to them. These are just a few of the many examples of the indignities same-sex couples deal with by virtue of the fact that they are treated as second-class citizens and refused the right to marry.

Adoption

 
Adoption is another way that LGBT individuals are often denied the rights their straight peers are afforded. Ten states and DC allow “second parent adoption”, the process by which a partner in a same-sex couple can adopt his/her partner’s biological child without terminating the parental rights of the biological parent.

Single-parent adoption by individuals who are gay is outlawed in Florida, though they are allowed to be foster parents. Utah law forbids cohabiting, non-married couples to adopt, and likewise prohibits same-sex marriage thereby effectively outlawing adoption by any unmarried couples regardless of sexual orientation. That’s just one of many state and local laws that harm straight people in the process of engaging in bias against LGBT individuals.

However even if the child is the biological child of an LGBT parent, there are potential difficulties. While there is substantial, legitimate, peer-studied research to indicate LGBT parents are every bit as effective and fit as other parents, they must face constant criticism and bigotry. However opponents have used faulty, distorted and outright fabricated research to make the claim that children raised by LGBT parents are at risk in various ways. Furthermore the biases of judges, social-service workers and others who make decisions about child custody can result in children being taken away from their LGBT parents based not on the actual fitness of the parent, but on their sexual orientation/gender identity.

 

Housing

 
GLBT individuals can legally be denied housing based on their sexual orientation/gender identity in most states. To date there are approximately thirteen states and numerous cities that ban housing discrimination based on sexual orientation and some include gender identity. However there is currently no federal law that does so. Therefore GLBT individuals do not have the same protections under the law in this area that other Americans currently do.

 
Employment

 
Thanks to President Bill Clinton, federal civilian LGBT employees enjoy protection from discrimination. But private-sector LGBTs are not so lucky. While twenty states, DC and 140 cities have banned discrimination against employees based on sexual orientation (some including gender identity) others still allow employers to fire, or refuse to hire, people for being LGBT. And, of course, even where anti-discrimination laws exist religious organizations and employers run by religious organizations are exempt from them.

ENDA, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, would ban discrimination against LGBT people on a nationwide basis. After numerous attempts it went through both the House and the Senate last Autumn, albeit without protections for Transgender individuals. It seems that the bigots couldn’t be convinced that they were worthy of such protections so they were dropped from the bill. It sits now in limbo, waiting for President Bush to sign or, more likely, to veto it.

Hate-Crimes Protection

 
32 states and DC have statutes that provide stronger penalties for those who engage in bias motivated crimes against people based on sexual orientation. 11 have protections for people based on gender identity. Only 16 are required, however, to collect statistics on these crimes, allowing for much valuable data to be lost.

Currently no federal legislation exists for prosecution or data collection of bias motivated crimes against LGBT people. In 2007 the Matthew Shepard Act, named for the young gay man brutally murdered in 1998, was introduced to Congress. The bill made it through the Senate, but not the House. LGBT people remain without federal hate-crimes protection and will do so indefinitely.

 

Military Service

 
On a personal level I have no interest in serving in the military. I detest the idea of killing anybody except as a last resort in self-defense. I abhor war and am a conscientious objector. Furthermore I can’t fathom why any LGBT person would put his or her life on the line to serve a country that can’t be bothered to give him/her the same rights and protections as all other citizens. Nonetheless I accept that there are indeed many LGBT individuals who wish to proudly serve in the military and are prevented from doing so by discriminatory legislation.

Previously the military simply banned gay/bisexual people from serving. When Bill Clinton took office in 1993 he had promised to allow gay people to serve openly. The resultant backlash from military leaders and the right-wing forced him to implement a compromise, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”, more commonly known as DADT. Gays could ostensibly serve in the military as long as they didn’t disclose their orientation, and the military couldn’t ask. While meant as a compromise, the policy has since led to more problems than it solved as it became very much a witch-hunt.

Between 1994 and 2005 there were 11,082 service-members discharged under DADT at a cost of approximately $200 million to the United States. Myriad polls have shown that the public favors allowing gay people to serve openly. Nonetheless military leaders remain staunchly in favor of DADT and it has been upheld in federal court five times.

 
In Conclusion

 
Marriage, employment, housing, partner benefits, health care decisions, inheritance rights, our families, hate-crimes protection, military service and so much more. Far from being “one issue”, these far reaching issues affect every aspect of our lives, and some can even put our lives in the balance.

So please realize that we are never “one issue voters”, even if it appears that we are. Things are much more complex and substantial than they seem on the surface.

Addendum: A comment has arrived. Tyler says:

 

I rant, you articulate. Very well done.

Thank you very much, Tyler. Actually on my blogs I articulate. Elsewhere I’m much more prone to ranting. Thanks again for stopping by.