I wrote previously about the Religious Right's opposition to the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crime Prevention Act of 2007 (H.R. 1592), a measure to aid in the prosecution of violent crimes perpetrated because of the victim's (perceived or actual) religion, race, color, ethnicity, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability.

Religious Right leader and bill opponent Lou Sheldon of the Traditional Values Coalition, who in late March dubbed the measure the "Pro-Homosexual/Drag Queen 'Hate Crime' Bill," held a press conference today urging its defeat. The bill is to be considered this afternoon by the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism & Homeland Security.

AU's New Media Developer Kevin Lingerfelt and I had the privilege of attending this morning's event. What we heard from Sheldon, a Presbyterian minister, and Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Tex.) was nothing short of outrageous. Most of it was downright false, in fact.

Chief among Sheldon and Gohmert's concerns is that the bill will criminalize Christianity. They claim to genuinely believe that preaching the Gospel, either from the pulpit or a public sidewalk, will constitute a "hate crime" under this legislation.

They handed out a handy sheet of "25 Reasons to Oppose So-Called Hate Crime Legislation" to the few press in attendance.

Here are some of their "reasons:"

"Large fines and eventually jail time for anyone who publicly speaks out against homosexual activity or transgenderism, even as a minister.... This includes messages that cite Scripture...."

"Termination from one's job if one does not support 'coming out' celebrations or 'gay pride' observances in the workplace, or if one does not attend mandatory 'sensitivity' or 'diversity' training sessions that espouse acceptance of homosexuality."

"...[T]he threat of loss of accreditation for Christian colleges that do not condone homosexual behavior and transgenderism."

"Having one's child (whether a foster child, adopted child, or, eventually biological child) removed from one's house if the parent opposes the child's declaration of homosexual identity and activity."

"Fines for any persons with rooms for rent in their home (e.g., a bed and breakfast) if they refuse to rent to a homosexual couple intent on having homosexual sex on the premises."

When I reminded Gohmert that the bill only deals with acts of physical violence, not speech, association or thought, he wiggled around and said that any act that that causes "physical harm" to person or property could be considered a violent "hate crime." He said that "nudging someone" in a crowd, or doing something while "trying to get off a piece of property" could be a hate crime if it hurt the person or property. I tried to follow up with a question about the bill's ACLU-approved free speech protections, but the good reverend wouldn't let me.

This bill does not criminalize expression, teaching, belief or opinion. What a scary world it would be if it did!

Gohmert even exploited yesterday's horrific shooting at Virginia Tech to push his point. Expressing his concern that the hate crimes legislation makes some victims "more important" than others, Gohmert said homosexuals would receive more protection than the students murdered yesterday, because they "only" suffered a random act of violence.

I was appalled. It's just over 24 hours after this national tragedy, and the Religious Right is using it to oppose a bill that cracks down on heinous, premeditated crimes.

The group also wasn't shy about exploiting their Lord and Savior. They designed a "WANTED" poster to illustrate their allegation that H.R. 1592 would criminalize Christianity. (See below) It depicts Jesus and lists his crime as "revealing the truth about homosexuality in 'The Bible' and encouraging his followers not to offend God by committing such behavior" (no reward, though).

I'm fairly certain this proposed law wouldn't apply to Jesus, since he never murdered anyone, let alone killed someone because he or she was a certain religion, ethnicity or sexual orientation. No, the Prince of Peace spoke of love, tolerance and forgiveness; never did he advocate violence against people because of who they were.