By Carter Clews
While America’s attention is focused on the Sotomayor hearings, the Senate Democrat leadership, at Barack Obama’s behest, is about to sneak through another brutal assault on small-d democratic sensibilities even more insidious than the “wise Latina woman,” herself.
The highly charged “Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009” (S. 909) would make it a federal crime to violently attack anyone you hate.
Unless, of course, the anyone you hate happens to be a white heterosexual.
That’s right, S. 909 — aka, the “hate crimes bill” — being pushed through by the Obama Administration as one of its highest legislative priorities would make it a federal crime to commit a violent act against anyone based on race or gender orientation – unless the race was Caucasian and the orientation was towards the opposite sex.
Lest anyone have any doubts about Mr. Obama’s primary intention to target those who don’t share his pigmentation or gender orientation biases, the President’s own Attorney General journeyed to Capitol Hill on June 29 to set the record straight. Here, in fact, word for word, is how AG Eric Holder described the intent of the Obama hate crimes bill when put to the test by Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee:
“We are talking about, if in fact the person, we are talking about crimes that have a historic basis. Groups who have been targeted for violence as a result of their skin color, sexual orientation, that is what this legislation is designed to cover.”
Later in the same hearing, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) — apparently trying to give Holder an opportunity to at least ameliorate his stated intention to override the principle of “Equal Protection” – asked the AG if the recent murder of Army recruiter Pvt. William Long by a radical Muslim constituted a “hate crime.” Nope, proclaimed Holder; Mr. Long was the wrong color. Here’s the actual quote:
“What we are looking for here in terms of expansion of the statute are instances where there is a historic basis. See, groups of people who are singled out for violence perpetrated against them because of who they are. I don’t know if we have the same historical record to say members of our military have been targeted in the same way that people who are African American …”
So, let’s get this straight: If Messrs. Obama and Holder have their way, the United States government – once fondly known as the “government of the people, by the people, and for the people” — will begin prosecuting some of “the people” and protecting others among “the people” solely based upon said people’s skin color and sexual orientation?
Precisely. For you see, under S. 909, certain members of our society, primarily determined by the color of their skin and the lusts in their hearts, are what Obama and Holder call “protected classes.” So, under legislation now before the U.S. Senate, if you cut them, they apparently bleed more … if you hit them, they apparently bruise worse … and if you do either of the aforementioned after calling them a nasty name … well, it’s off to the federal penitentiary for you. Which isn’t precisely what the words “Equal Justice Under Law” were intended to mean when engraved upon the façade of the United States Supreme Court Building in 1932.
Let’s get down to the brass tacks here: If the American people – of all pigmentations and orientations – do not rise up as with a voice in the next several days and scream bloody murder about the horrific hate crimes bill (S. 909), we will have just handed Barack Obama and Eric Holder the deadly weapon with which to bludgeon any and all who dare defy their bigoted ideas about who is more equal than others among us. There is simply no other way to put it.
The bill has already been brought to the floor of the Senate. So, if we are not soon to cease being what John Adams termed a “nation of laws” – and descend, rather, into becoming a “nation of – some – men,” all men and women of good will had better speak up now, or forever lose their peace. The number for the Senate switchboard is 202-225-3121.
Carter Clews is the Executive Editor of ALG News Bureau
