More proof that laws are already made and are attempted to be made that will force Christians to either do things that they don't agree with, and or be considered a criminals. There is also a paragraph in there that speaks about some of the issues in Canada because of their laws.
Ironically, opposition to the bill is coming from a minority group long associated with proponents of civil rights. A group of black conservative leaders are lobbying against the bill now in the Senate. Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson, founder and president of the Brotherhood Organization of a New Destiny (BOND), was recently in Washington, D.C. urging senators to vote against the hate crimes bill (SB 1105). The bill would provide federal assistance for the prosecution of any crime that is "motivated by prejudice based on the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability of the victim." What they object to is the late addition of "sexual orientation" to the list.
Peterson and others claim the bill could one day force Christian pastors to perform same sex "marriages and if they refuse, they could be criminalized. He and others also believe that the pulpit could be silenced if pastors preach against homosexuality which they view as a sin
and even still that the Bible would be classified as "hate speech," regarding its references to homosexuality.
Sound silly? Well maybe, maybe not.
In Canada, there is a similar hate crimes bill now in effect. A Canadian pastor is facing a hearing before the Alberta Human Rights and Citizenship commission over a letter he wrote to a newspaper condemning homosexuality. Some believe the minister's letter was the motivation behind the beating of a 17-year-old homosexual two weeks after the letter was published. The minister's counsel claims his client's free speech is being violated and that the hate crimes bill is a bad law because it criminalizes speech but does nothing to prevent violent crime. (Of course the argument would be that the hate speech motivates the violence and stopping the speech would prevent the crime.)
Even within the U.S. there are signs that Rev. Peterson may have a legitimate point. In New Jersey, two lesbians have filed a civil rights complaint against a Methodist-run campground that refused to host a same sex union ceremony. The seaside retreat of the Ocean Grove Campground was founded by Methodists in 1869. Trustees denied the women's request, citing official church policy, which does not recognize same sex unions.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,290776,00.html
Government to pastor: Renounce your faith!
[FONT=Palatino, Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif][SIZE=+1]
Now banned from expressing moral opposition to homosexuality[/SIZE][/FONT]
[SIZE=-1]Posted: June 09, 2008
10:00 pm Eastern
[/SIZE][SIZE=-1]© 2008 WorldNetDaily [/SIZE]
A Canadian human rights tribunal ordered a Christian pastor to renounce his faith and never again express moral opposition to homosexuality, according to a new report.
In a decision dated May 30 in the penalty phase of the quasi-judicial proceedings run by the
Alberta Human Rights Tribunal, evangelical pastor Stephen Boisson was banned from expressing his biblical perspective of homosexuality and ordered to pay $5,000 for "damages for pain and suffering" as well as apologize to the activist who complained of being hurt.
According to a report from Pete Vere at the
[COLOR=blue! important][FONT='Times New Roman', Georgia, Serif][COLOR=blue! important][FONT='Times New Roman', Georgia, Serif]Catholic[/FONT][/FONT][/COLOR][/COLOR] Exchange, the penalty could foreshadow the possible fate of the Rev. Alphonse de Valk, who also cited the biblical perspective on homosexuality in the nation's debate over same-sex "
[COLOR=blue! important][FONT='Times New Roman', Georgia, Serif][COLOR=blue! important][FONT='Times New Roman', Georgia, Serif]marriage[/FONT][/FONT][/COLOR][/COLOR]" and now faces HRC charges.
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=66704
But the United States is not immune:
