Would "Hate Crime" Legislation Really "Silence" Pastors?

Well, the next thing you know they will make preaching the 10 commandments a hate crime because Polititians want to sleep with their aides and secretaries. And they may want to skim a little off the top of their campaign contributions and that would definitely be a hate crime to preach against that. Of course, they may want to sleep with a constituants spouse on the campaign trail too, you have to take that into consideration. Yeah you have to cover all bases with those nasty preachers and their hate crimes. Being Jewish I am very sensitive to things said from pulpits and podiums. I know the power weilded in these places. I know that some preachers are trying to just read from "the good book" and interpret it the way they think is right. As long as that is all they are doing I do not think the Government has the right to step in and stop them, just like they do not have the right to stop the Gay rights marches and speachs from their podiums. If, however, these preachers are in any way inciting folks to "DO" anything about what the preacher is saying, then LOCK THEM UP and throw away the key. No one has the right to harm or invade the space of another in the name of religion or G'd! No one! No one has the right to force their beliefs onto another person! No one! Shalom~Adoniah

In churches yes we do preach against homosexuality, that in the Bible it is described as a sin. But we also teach acceptance, love, and tolerance. Pastors are not telling parisioners that we should go out and harm or worse kill homosexuals. What we preach is nothing to that effect. We don't teach harming one another in fact we preach against such behavior!

You know what? This is a case where separation of church and state may come into play. I have always been willing to die to defend this separation. No law will change some religions view on homosexuality.Fortunately there are branches of the same religions who accept homosexuals.Anyway, the main reason for the separation is that the government can't tell any religion what they can and can't believe.It is sad but there will always be some people who believe being gay is sinful. They are free to be this backward. What they can't do is attack a person they perceive to be gay.And if anyone, preacher or non preacher, provokes someone to hurt or kill someone just because of who they are, the person is breaking the law.But to tell any religion what to preach is a violation of the separation of church and state.It works both ways. If we have the freedom of religion, meaning that the government can't tell us which church we must go to, then the government can't tell any religion what they must believe.

You are right. It only applies if they incite people to do harm to persons in the "hated" group. And there have been cases of that. There are the people who blow up abortion clinics, kill doctors who perform abortions because of hate filled rhetoric. There is a difference between hating a behavior and hating the persons who behave that way. I don't think preachers should be preaching hate, no matter what they think of the sin. Love the sinner. We can disagree with ideas but I don't think we can actually hate an idea. We can disagree with it, even see it as unpleasant. But love and hate are emotions that are about persons. My two cents worth.

First off, I by no means support this bill. I do believe in freedom of speech and freedom of religion. That being said, I don't think it should be a crime to say such things, but it is just plain rude and homosexuals shouldn't have to hear thenselves being trashed like that, especially because it is not exclusively in churches. There are times when religious representatives go to public places like parking lots and ramble their beliefs and I don't particularly like that. Obviously I can't do anything about that since they are expressing their freedom of speech, but they could at least have the respect and courtesy to restrict themselves to public speeches that do not demean other people. As for the bill passing stopping these people from speaking out, it may stop some but probably not most. It has been my experience that a lot of serious religious people will stop at nothing to spread the word of their faith. They would not care if jail time and fines were the punishment for voicing their thoughts. I am not Christian myself, or anything else. I am agnostic. But I do know that a lot of Christians I know believe strongly in spreading the word of God. Most of the people I know are courteous enough to only talk about that sort of thing if asked, so that they know the person wants to hear about it, and then they will open up and tell you anything you want to know, but for preachers, no law is going to stop them from answering their "calling." Sorry for the long response but you gave me a decent amount to say on this one. Thanks! I like discussions that make me think!

If the religious book that the people study from frowns upon something, such as homosexuality, legislation shouldnt be able to stop that. I thought we had separation of church and state? If you dont agree with what a church is saying, go to a different one! The church has freedom of speech and has the right to say what they want.

I think homosexuals should be left alone to do what they please. But a law about it is too much over. We don't have those here in our country. Homosexuals roam free here.

I don't think it would silence pastors and I'm not for silencing pastors in their own church. Once they get going they get going.

You addressed it but free speech doesn't apply when it is discriminatory to a group or a person. I don't think it would silence anyone with that kind of hatred. The laws in this country don't seem to deter people with crime in their minds and hate in their hearts. Unfortunately, I wish I could say hate crime legislation would be helpful but it wouldn't. It would still go on in those that are that narrow minded.

Well since the "rumor" of said legislation is based on a falsehood we have nothing to worry about. A paster in his own church may say anything he likes. He may interprete the Bible in any way that he chooses, rightly or wrongly. When he is in his church preaching to his congregation he is in his house and what he says there is his and his "families" business. If he uses his position of authority, his position as head of his house to incite violence against others, whether based upon gender, race, orientation or anything else then he must be held responsible for his actions. While I understand others views on Hate Crimes I hold a different view. I am a supporter of "special" sentencing for Hate Crimes. I believe strongly that where the special circumstance exists there needs to be available option for added punishment / determent. As a victim of a Hate Crime I know how powerful this issue is to victims and their families, what long lasting affect a Hate Crime has. In my opinion there needs to be equally long lasting punishment.

No, hate crime legislation would not silence pastors--or anyone for that matter--unless they plan to incite violence. I support hate crime legistlation because I remember the lessons of the Holocaust and the Civil Rights Movement here in the States. The Holocaust involved institutionalized, legalized bigotry against religious and ethnic minorities, the disabled, and gays and lesbians. By giving an extra layer of legal protection to such groups, I believe we help hold the line against this sort of behavior in our own country. During the Civil Rights Movement, there were several instances where federal civil rights law trumped the willingness of local jurisdictions to ignore white-on-black crime. Federal civil rights legislation ensured that there were legal options for prosecution if bigotry rather justice prevailed on the local level.

Hey anniepa, how's it going? No, I don't think that any hate crime legislation would prohibit ministers from preaching what they believe to be right as the freedom of speech is one of the basic rights of Americans.