Gays: Tolerance or Acceptance?

June 23, 2004

Senator Ted Kennedy's amendment to extend hate-crime legislation to include homosexuals sailed through the Senate on July 22 by a vote of 65-33. It now becomes part of the Senate's Defense Authorization Act. What homosexuality and defense have to do with one another is anyone's guess. But if the Kennedy amendment survives the House/Senate conference committee, it would be the first major expansion of the 1968 hate-crimes statute. Currently, the law allows federal prosecution for crimes based on race, color, religion, or national origin.

 

What about sex? There are known misogynists who have killed just because they hate women. (Ever noticed there's not a word for women who hate men?) How about people who hate red-heads or people with tattoos or people who wear their pants too low. Get the picture? People hate for all sorts of reasons. Ordinarily, someone who harms another human being does it out of hate. So, why should someone be prosecuted more because he attacked a gay person than someone who hates radio talk show hosts. And there are plenty of those, believe you me.

 

Here's what's wrong with hate-crime legislation. It's discriminatory. Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas summed it up when he voiced his opposition to the Kennedy amendment. “Crimes against another person are crimes of hate regardless of who the individual is,” he said. “This (referring to the Kennedy amendment) is a hateful thing to do.” Hear, hear, Senator.

 

It seems like everyone these days wants to be a part of a “protected group,” like they're some kind of endangered species. But this legislation is designed to do far more than give special protection to homosexuals. It's designed to force acceptance of homosexuality. That's been the goal all along. That's why the radical gay rights movement has hijacked the civil rights movement. They want to hold the country down, twist its arm and make it say, “Okay, okay. Homosexuality is fine.” It's not. Gays are far more likely to be alcoholics, abuse drugs, contract sexually transmitted diseases and commit suicide. Is that okay?

 

Don't misunderstand. I have dear friends who are homosexual but I do not approve of their lifestyle. I don't want my children to ever think it's okay to be gay. I even think some people might be predisposed to be gay even, dare I say, born that way. That doesn't excuse the behavior. People are born predisposed to do a lot of things. People are born predisposed to addiction to alcohol or drugs. That doesn't mean we say it's okay. It's fine to be understanding of gays but the last thing we should be encouraging our children to do is to become gay.

 

We're in a battle over morality in this country. The radical gay rights movement wants your kids taught in school that it's fine if they experiment with homosexuality. It's one thing to be tolerant. We all should allow people to live their lives as they see fit. It's quite another to be approving.

 

The Kennedy amendment is another part of the plan to lump homosexuality in with race, religion and national origin. It's not the same nor should we as a society acquiesce. Tolerance is a two-way street. If you want me to adopt an attitude of tolerance toward gays, then gays must be tolerant of my belief that teaching my kids to be gay is wrong. Deal?

 

With that settled, let's hope the House/Senate conference committee does the right thing and strikes down the Kennedy amendment. If you're gay and you want to be treated like everyone else, stop asking for special protection under the law.