Wingnuts Freaking Over Hate Crimes Act

Under the predictable headline Pedophile Protection Act Passes, Christianist news site WorldNetDaily is continuing to lie about the hate crimes act.

Erik Stanley, senior legal counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund, told WND the move is alarming because "this would be the very first governmental and societal disapproval of a sincerely held religious belief, held by a majority of Americans, namely that homosexual behavior is immoral. "It's the first time the federal government is writing into law a disapproval of that belief," he said. While he said he doesn't believe there will be "immediate" prosecutions of pastors and churches for teaching the biblical injunction that homosexual behavior is sin, "I think the effect on speech and religious speech is nonetheless real." He said he does expect that pastors soon will begin being called to testify in "hate crime" cases in court "as to what that pastor preaches, what the church teaches, what the Bible teaches." "When this happens, there will be a shock wave through pastorates in America," he said. Ultimately, he warned that the homosexual advocates who have pushed the "hate crimes" plan consider this law just the first step "toward silencing Christians."

Commenters on Free Republic see more fuel for the coming second Civil War.

"This is an attempt to silence Christianity. They have no idea what a hornets nest they’ve opened up. I can’t wait until the first pink tutu wearing gay opens fire on a Pastor’s sermon. It WILL go to court and the 1st amendment WILL be used in defense. Going to come down one of 2 ways 1) the 1st amendment will be upheld and this ‘law’ will be declared unconstitutional or 2) the 1st amendment will become toilet paper and then CWII opens up as something a mite hotter than rhetoric in forums and chatrooms."