CONYERS INTRODUCING NEW HATE BILL!
By Rev. Ted Pike
2 Apr 09
Rep.
John Conyers is reintroducing the same hate crimes bill which passed
the US House two years ago, I was told yesterday by the legislative
expert for Rep. Jackson-Lee. A representative of the House Judiciary
Committee told me Conyers' bill will be in Judiciary, which he
heads, by Friday. The new title and bill number are not yet disclosed.
Conyers' bill gives much more dangerously invasive power to the
federal government than would have been granted by the shorter,
proto-hate bill HR 256 which has been in House Judiciary since
early January. That shorter bill will now be abandoned.
Conyers’ bill will give government the right to enter law enforcement to
punish violent hate crimes, punishing “as a principal” those pastors,
writers, talk show hosts, etc. whose public speech incites violent hate crimes.
It will also empower government to intervene to investigate and punish all non-violent
bias crimes against persons or property. The government can do the same for alleged
felonies. Its power will massively expand, with corresponding loss of states’ rights
in law enforcement. The federal government will be able to nullify verdicts in
state hate crime trials; it will force the remaining five US states without hate
laws to submit to its statutes; lastly, it will create a federal hate crimes
bureaucracy to "prevent" hate crimes in America through education and other means.
I warned in my recent article “Pelosi’s Hate Bill Strategy” (here
at www.truthtellers.org, March 16, 2009) that arrival of Conyers' bill was
imminent. Rep. Jackson-Lee’s streamlined David
Ray Hate Crimes Prevention Act, HR 256, was created largely to test the
waters for opposition. For almost three months, the largest Christian/conservative “watchdog” groups
have not responded with any effective education or protest. A small but valiant
protest has been directed to members of the House Judiciary Committee, primarily
by supporters of the National Prayer Network. But Conyers and the pro-hate bill
Democrats must feel emboldened by the near silence from the religious right.
We may expect the hate bill to move through the House Judiciary Committee quite
rapidly, with hearings perhaps within the month. The only thing, apart from God’s
grace, that can stop the expanded hate bill from victory in the House is renewed
protest—especially to House Judiciary members. Their
names are available here at www.truthtellers.org. Call 1-877-851-6437 or
toll 202-225-3121 and tell your members of Congress, “Please
don’t vote for any hate crime legislation, especially Rep. Conyers' new
hate bill being introduced this week.”
New
Threat: Dept of Peace Bill
What
of Jackson-Lee’s other bill HR 262, which will set up a federal
hate crimes command center and also a reeducation program in America’s
public schools? It may be abandoned for the Department
of Peace Act, HR 808, introduced Feb. 3, with 62 co-sponsors.
(Read
my analysis of this Orwellian legislation at www.truthtellers.org,
March 20 2007.) Like HR 262, HR 808 would set up an anti-bias federal
command center and re-educate America’s young people from
kindergarten through college against the “bias” that
allegedly causes hate crimes. Yet because it intends to be international
in scope, it will have massively greater funding. It asks $10 billion
annually, compared to the mere $10 million requested by HR 262.
Passage of the Dept. of Peace bill would give the Anti-Defamation
League, its co-originator, vastly greater power to alienate the
next generation against the Christian “homophobia” that
ADL considers a root cause of “hate crimes.”
The Dept. of Peace bill and the expanded hate bill enjoy their terrifyingly
great chances of passage largely because of the silence of the religious and
conservative right. Why have they done nothing?
Possible
Strategy of New Right
Conservative
leaders may have a strategy which explains their incredible silence
and inaction. They know the hate bill threat could become one tremendous
money-maker! When the threat looms large enough, they can tell
their constituents that generous financial support is needed to
save freedom. It’s possible that as Conyers' new bill moves
rapidly forward, these groups may get into high gear in a chorus
of protest.
But they have squandered a strategic opportunity to blunt the hate
bill’s
trajectory, placing us in enormous jeopardy. With vast resources and millions
of constituents, they might have backed Conyers down from introducing his much
more dangerous hate bill and possibly ascendancy of the Dept of Peace bill.
Grim reality is that Conyers' hate bill is highly favored to pass both the
House and Senate. Even mass protest may not daunt the pro-hate bill majority,
backed by the White House. If conservative leaders truly did postpone to make
money, they betrayed God who commanded the watchman to sound the alarm the instant he
sees the enemy coming, not when he can make money off the warning! They
also betrayed their followers who naïvely look to them for warning. If
for profit they jeopardized freedom, that dereliction of duty is what the prophet
Ezekiel warned would cause the loss of the watchman's soul. (Ezek. 33:6)
Hate
Bill Hall of Shame
As
of Wednesday April 1, 2009, these leadership groups have given
no effective widespread warning or description of the hate bills.
I encourage you to call and ask why.
- American
Family Association. AFA has HR 256 and HR 262 listed on
its action page as legislation it opposes, along with S 1105
and HR 254, outdated hate bills from the previous Congress; but
it has produced no upfront timely warnings or calls to action
against the hate bills on its website. Call 662-844-5036.
- Concerned
Women for America. Although CWA featured an article
by Matt Barber in early January describing the hate bills, it has no alert
on its website. CWA continues a long history of doing the bare minimum
to actively warn against pending hate legislation. Call 202-488-7000.
- American Center for Law and Justice. Bursting with warnings of the
hate law threat from Muslims in the United Nations, ACLJ continues their
historic policy of silence concerning the domestic threat of hate laws
in Congress and the states. Call 800-296-4529.
- Family
Research Council. FRC continues to make veiled references
to "hate
crimes legislation" in Congress, even organizing an online petition
against it. (Online petitions are ineffective in
opposing the hate bill but are a great fundraiser, producing tens of
thousands of names and addresses to be repeatedly sold to direct mail
companies!) FRC makes no mention of the names or numbers of the hate
bills and does not give much description of their content. Instead
references to this vague legislative threat are always part of efforts
to raise the millions FRC claims are necessary to defend freedom, defeat
the hate bill, and exert influence "behind the
scenes" on Capitol Hill. Call Washington, D.C. 202-393-2100 or Holland,
MI 800-225-4008.
- Focus
on the Family. I was told nearly two months
ago by Focus that they were monitoring both hate bills closely and
would soon come out with an alert. I am still waiting. Call
866-655-4545.
-
Traditional Values Coalition. Like Focus, they told
me they were "watching
the hate bills closely." No alerts have been posted. Call Washington,
D.C. 202-547-8570 or California 714-520-0300.
- Center for Moral Clarity. On their website under Action Alert-Issues-Current
Legislation, CMC have Jackson-Lee's two-year-old HR 254 as current
legislation to be opposed. Incredibly, CMC has removed the previous alerts
against HR 256 and HR 262 from another section of their website! Call 614-837-1990,
ext. 183 and ask for the Center for Moral Clarity.
- Alliance Defense Fund. Nothing. Call 800-TELL ADF.
- Liberty Counsel. Nothing. Call 800-671-1776.
- Christian
Coalition. Nothing. Call 202-479-6900.
Watch the dynamic 10-minute educational video How to Kill the
Hate Bills at www.truthtellers.org which
explains how the two hate bills, HR256 and HR262, threaten freedom.
Please tell the offices of members of Congress to watch it! Also
at www.truthtellers.org, watch our gripping 82-minute documentary Hate
Laws: Making Criminals of Christians.
Let the Anti-Defamation League teach you how they have saddled 45 states with
hate laws capable of persecuting Christians, and spearhead attempts to pass the
federal hate crimes bill: http://www.adl.org/99hatecrime/intro.asp.
TALK SHOW HOSTS: Interview Rev. Ted Pike on this subject. Call
(503) 631-3808.
National Prayer Network, P.O. Box 828, Clackamas,
OR 97015
