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As we’ve reported to you in the past, the concept of hate crimes legislation is problematic because it creates separate classes of victims. This law makes it a more severe crime to commit a violent act against a homosexual than to commit a violent act against a senior citizen, a mother, or countless other classes that could be viewed as meriting special protection. Rather than prosecuting all crimes equally, this law creates a special victim class based on “sexual orientation” and “gender identity.”
This becomes even more problematic when you consider the chilling effect that it could have on religious speech. For example, it is conceivable that a pastor preaching on the Biblical perspective on homosexuality could face charges if someone who hears that sermon commits a violent act. While we firmly believe that the pastor’s First Amendment protections would ultimately prevail, this law could put the pastor’s constitutionally-protected speech under a legal microscope.
Fortunately, there was language included in the legislation that provides some solid statutory protection for religious speech.
That language is as follows:
CONSTRUCTION AND APPLICATION.—Nothing in this division, or an amendment made by this division, shall be construed or applied in a manner that infringes any rights under the first amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
Nor shall anything in this division, or an amendment made by this division, be construed or applied in a manner that substantially burdens a person’s exercise of religion (regardless of whether compelled by, or central to, a system of religious belief), speech, expression, or association, unless the Government demonstrates that application of the burden to the person is in furtherance of a compelling governmental interest and is the least restrictive means of furthering that compelling governmental interest, if such exercise of religion, speech, expression, or association was not intended to—
(A) plan or prepare for an act of physical violence; or
(B) incite an imminent act of physical violence against another. We are grateful to Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) for working to include this protection. However, it is still troubling that this underlying legislation has been approved and signed into law. We anticipate it could result in a legal battle over the free expression rights of pastors.
As always, we will vigorously defend the constitutional right of our religious leaders to speak freely about the tenets of their faith.
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