Dr. James Dobson said he’s thankful President Bush has indicated he will veto the controversial and misleading "hate-crimes" bill that passed the U.S. House today.
"We applaud the president's courage in standing up for the Constitution and the principle of equal protection under the law,” the founder and chairman of Focus on the Family Action said. “The American justice system should never create second-class victims, and it is a first-class act of wisdom and fairness for the president to pledge to veto this unnecessary bill."
The White House indicated it favors strong criminal penalties for violent crime directed at any individual, but considers H.R. 1592 “unnecessary and constitutionally questionable.”
H.R. 1592 – the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act – was introduced by Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich. It passed 237 to 180, mostly along party lines: 212 Democrats voted in favor, along with 25 Republicans; 166 Republicans voted against, joined by 14 Democrats.
The bill did not pass with enough votes to override a veto.
It would mandate additional federal penalties for crimes involving sexual orientation or gender identity, enshrining homosexuality in federal law as a civil rights issue. Family advocates say the bill could ultimately strip away religious freedoms.
“We come here today to take the civil-rights laws we have passed across the years to crimes of violence based on the hate of an individual," Conyers told colleagues, "crimes motivated by bias against the victim’s actual or perceived sexual orientation (or) gender identity.”
Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, said the legislation would mandate different penalties for the same crime.
“For example, criminals who kill a homosexual will be punished more harshly than criminals who kill a police officer, a member of the military, a child, a senior citizen or any other person,” he said. “All victims should have equal worth in the eyes of the law.”
Randy Thomas, executive vice president for Exodus International – a ministry for people who are unhappy with their same-sex attraction – called it “a sad day for those who esteem equality in America.”
"This legislation assigns special protections to certain groups and less to others. As former homosexuals, we are now considered less deserving of legal protection than when we were living as homosexuals,” Thomas said.
Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, said the most disturbing aspect of the hate-crimes bill is that it paves the way for the prosecution of people who hold a biblical view of homosexuality.
"I strongly encourage people to let their senators know to vote against this unconstitutional legislation and encourage President Bush to… veto any such measure should it reach his desk."
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(Paid for by Focus on the Family Action)
