Conservatives don't want people to have special rights—unless, that is, Christian fanatics are the ones feeling persecuted.
Yesterday, the House voted to expand federal hate crimes laws to include violence committed against gay, lesbian, and transgender people. It passed by a margin of 281 to 146, largely along party lines. Democrats argued that crimes motivated by a victim's sexual orientation should be punished with the same vigor as crimes motivated by the victim's skin color. But Republicans said we shouldn't be protecting victim's based on the victims beliefs, identity, or associations:
Representative John A. Boehner of Ohio, the House Republican leader, called the legislation radical social policy. “The idea that we’re going to pass a law that’s going to add further charges to someone based on what they may have been thinking, I think is wrong,” Mr. Boehner said.
Yes, conservatives would never support this sort of law—I mean, they'd be aghast at the prospect of seeking legal protection from bias crimes...
Protect Marriage Washington, argued in federal court that releasing the names and addresses would cause petition signers “immediate and irreparable deprivations of their First Amendment liberties." The group said that “individuals whose names are already connected with Referendum 71 have been subjected to threats, harassment, and reprisals simply for exercising their First Amendment freedoms of speech and association.”
Craven hypocrites.
“The idea that we’re going to pass a law that’s going to add further charges to someone based on what they may have been thinking, I think is wrong,”
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