(Crossposted from The Bilerico Project)
It kills me that so many of the religious right hate groups have to use obviously twisted logic to support their biases and prejudices. A good case in point is the recent e-blast from the Indiana Family Institute shrieking about hate crimes legislation.
Last week The U.S. House Judiciary Committee voted 15-12 in favor of legislation that would create a new class of crimes based on the victim's "actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity."
Under "hate-crimes" laws like H.R. 1913, pastors could be prosecuted for preaching the biblical view of homosexuality. Similar laws have been used to prosecute religious speech in the U.S. at the state level and abroad.
You'd think that three simple sentences wouldn't be too hard to get correct. The IFI e-mail, however, fails to measure up to that basic test. Each and every single sentence is a blatant lie meant to stir up the sheeple. Let's review the facts about each sentence:
Last week The U.S. House Judiciary Committee voted 15-12 in favor of legislation that would create a new class of crimes based on the victim's "actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity."
The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act (H.R. 1913) does not "create a new class of crimes." It expands the coverage of existing hate crime laws to include not only victims of crime based on religion, race, color, and national origin, but also bias-motivated crimes based on the victim's actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or disability.
What this means to the average Hoosier is this:
The Indiana Family Institute is opposed to punishing someone more severely for targeting a disabled person for a crime because of their disability or a woman because of her gender. Why? Because they're prejudiced against the LGBT community, they'd rather condone violence against women and the disabled.
It's a lie to say that the proposed legislation "creates a new class of crimes" when there is already a federal hate crimes law in place. It's a lie to claim the legislation would only protect the LGBT community.
Under "hate-crimes" laws like H.R. 1913, pastors could be prosecuted for preaching the biblical view of homosexuality.
Hate crimes laws only punish violent acts. Unless the pastor follows up on his sermon that gays and lesbians are going to hell by grabbing a shotgun and hastening Judgment Day for a "homosexual," nothing will happen. Pastors will still be free to make statements like "Gays and lesbians are an abomination," or "Transgender people will not be accepted into heaven" because it doesn't prohibit name-calling, verbal abuse or expressions of hatred toward any group.
Two Supreme Court cases from the 90s settled this matter. R.A.V. v. City of St. Paul and Wisconsin v. Mitchell both clearly found that a criminal statute may consider bias motivation when that motivation is directly connected to a defendant's criminal conduct. If the pastor doesn't commit a violent crime, what is there to prosecute?
In fact, the the bill specifically includes the following provision:
Nothing in this Act, or the amendments made by this Act, shall be construed to prohibit any expressive conduct protected from legal prohibition by, or any activities protected by the free speech or free exercise clause of, the First Amendment to the Constitution.
The Indiana Family Institute is lying when they say pastors will be prosecuted for preaching against gays and lesbians. Why? Because most sheeple won't have read the Act to see what it actually says. Claiming that preachers will be sent to prison is meant to rile up Christians' persecution complex and play against the congregants love of their pastor.
It's a lie to claim that ministers will be prosecuted for preaching religious dogma.
Similar laws have been used to prosecute religious speech in the U.S. at the state level and abroad.
This is simply a case of logical fallacy - a red herring, if you will. Reread the statement and then apply this filter: In the United States, do we follow Swiss laws? Do we follow the laws of Saudi Arabia? Or do we follow American laws? Making claims that "similar" laws were used to prosecute religious speech in other countries is ludicrous. The US justice system is unique to our nation and our legal precedents aren't set in foreign countries.
I'd also challenge the Indiana Family Institute to produce a "state level" court case from the United States where a hate crimes law was used to prosecute someone for religious speech. They can't. It's never happened. After all, religious and free speech protections are written into our Constitution - and the proposed legislation.
The Indiana Family Institute is lying when they claim people have been prosecuted for exercising a Constitutional right. Why? By pretending to have examples of these "prosecutions," the IFI is fearmongering, plain and simple. If they can scare people, they have a better chance to influence those people.
The Indiana Family Institute is lying when they suggest that United States federal law is subject to foreign judicial proceedings. As with the TV commercials hawking miracle cures that feature older men walking around in white lab coats to infer scientific credibility, by casually mentioning that "similar laws" in foreign countries the IFI is hoping to give their shadow truth another level of anti-foreigner and anti-gay tinge. They're simply playing to personal prejudices and bigotry as well as the fear of "the other."
Thankfully, the religious right American Taliban groups were handed a spectacular defeat when Obama was voted in to office. Public opinion is shifting from the Bush-led "me-first-screw-the-other-guy" mentality that dominated the late 90s and early 2000s. A 2007 Gallup poll showed that 68% of Americans favored expanding hate crimes laws to include sexual orientation and gender identity. A 2007 Hart Research poll showed large majorities of every major subgroup of the electorate -- including such traditionally conservative groups as Republican men (56%) and evangelical Christians (63%) -- expressed support for strengthening hate crimes laws to include sexual orientation and gender identity.
While these religious right orgs continue to bluster and bluff, Americans have turned the corner on their brand of exclusionary political dogma - and the hate groups like the Indiana Family Institute have to resort to lying with every sentence they speak.
Second, I really don’t see a debate here that will not be settled by the passage of time. As I said above, in five years, one of us will be able to say “I told you so”. I desperately hope that it is you! I will be saving this article to refer back to and learn from in the future. Will y’all do the same please??
Looks to me like you just want to make fun of the people you don't agree with. I don't condone out right lying or stretching the truth, but looks like you are doing the exact same thing.
If you really wanted to change conservative opinion, you wouldn't call sincere Christians "sheeple" or "the religious right American Taliban groups". We live in America where we have the right to believe anything we want, and you have the right to disagree, but you aren't going to change my mind by calling me these names.
It seems to me (my opinion, and I have the right to express it), that you don't want to change my mind you just want to call me names and spew hate and lies, the exact thing you are accusing the "Religious Right" of doing. Looks like the lefts best approach is to accuse the right of doing exactly what it is doing.
Oh well, at least I didn't call you any cruel names.
Sheeple: A mindless follower
Most of these groups like the Indiana Family Institute are sheeple. They don't think for themselves; instead they insist that the group leaders are correct on everything that's wrong in the world today. Jim Jones' follower were sheeple. IFI followers are also sheeple.
"Religious Right American Taliban": Christian groups who would like to see all American laws based on the Bible (as the Taliban has enforced religious law)
Groups like IFI want to ban same-sex marriage, oppose hate crimes legislation and equal employment opportunities for the LGBT community. Now, you can ask yourself a basic question (if you're not a sheeple!). Why?
Is it because they think that people should be attacked and killed? Is it because they think people shouldn't have job protections - or maybe jobs? Or do they oppose the protections simply because the would include the LGBT community?
Since they don't have a problem with religious protections for employment and hate crimes; it's because we're included. What's the basis for that prejudice? They use the Bible as a weapon and a source of reasoning as to why our government should or shouldn't do something. We're not a theocracy. By trying to influence our federal laws to conform to their view of the Bible, they are doing the same thing as the Taliban. Hence, "American Taliban."
So, did I lie or stretch the truth? No. Not at all.
I can claim that I am LGB and you can't tell me that I'm not! Then I can claim discrimination everytime I don't get a Job I want or an Appartment I want or or anything else I wanted and you wouldn't give me.
The problem that Christians who believe that the Bible is the word of God, and is a guide for all mankind, is that it clearly says:
1 Cor 6:9-10
Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God.
That dosen't mean your sexuality is something you can choose, but it is something you can choose not to act upon. Same with Cheating on your spouse, or being abusive or stealing. Most people don't wake up in the morning and say "I think I'm going to cheat on my wife today." Most (not all) who do any of these things would choose not to do them if they could, but we don't give them protected status.
Does it "kill" you when left wing hate groups use obviously twisted logic to support their biases and prejudices?
I will grant that you would have a point were you to take umbrage with his tone, but the actual facts of the article are there for anyone to compare with!
That's a logical fallacy that really doesn't have anything to do with what I wrote. When we're speaking of blatant lies and fallacies from the Indiana Family Institute, shifting the focus to left wing groups is a way of avoiding the discussion at hand by attempting to change the topic.