Gentile Women Appalled by Jewish 'Thought Crime' Legislation

Source: U.S. Newswire | July 27, 2001

Senate Committee Passes ‘Thought Crimes’ Bill,
Says Women’s Group

Press Release
Concerned Women for America: Senate Judiciary Committee Passes ‘Thought Crimes’ Bill
To: National Desk
Contact: Rebbeca L. Riggs of Concerned Women for America (202) 488-7000

WASHINGTON – “Concerned Women for America deplores any act of violence against innocent victims, including homosexuals, but we strongly oppose as unjust and dangerous the entire concept of ‘hate crimes’ legislation,” said CWA’s Culture and Family Institute Director Robert Knight. “We believe that a grandmother walking down the street should have at least as much protection under the law as a homosexual who is leaving a ‘gay’ bar.”

Knight’s comments come in response to the Senate Judiciary Committee’s 12-7 vote to approve S. 625, the Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act, which awaits a final vote before the whole Senate. “Although well-intentioned, ‘hate-crime’ laws such as S. 625 are seriously flawed,” Knight said. “They pave the way for unequal treatment under the law as well as the
un-American concept of ‘thought crime,’ in which someone’s beliefs or thoughts are made illegal.”

Such laws:

  • Violate the concept of equal protection under the law by designating special classes of victims, who get a higher level of government protection.
  • Politicize criminal law, leading to pressure on police and prosecutors to devote more of their limited resources to some cases at the expense of other crime victims’ cases.
  • Add nothing to the prosecution of real crimes of violence, vandalism, or property destruction, which are already covered by statutes in every state.
  • Vastly expand the power and jurisdiction of the federal government to intervene in local law-enforcement matters, once a crime is called a “hate crime.”
  • Have a chilling effect on free speech by making unpopular ideas a basis for harsher treatment in criminal proceedings. More than half of the so-called “hate crimes” in the last U.S. Justice Department report were categorized as “intimidation” or “simple assault,” which do not necessarily involve anything more than words. In terms of the proposed national hate crimes bill, this makes name-calling literally a federal case.

“There is no evidence that victims of ‘hate crimes’ are receiving any less attention than victims of other crimes,” Knight said. “The solution to ‘hate crimes’ is to enforce the law impartially and firmly. Every citizen deserves equal protection under the law. Senators need to be told this bill threatens the justice of our legal system.”