A Christian group in Michigan has filed a lawsuit alleging that a package of hate crimes laws named after murder victim Matthew Shepard is an affront to their religious freedom.
Far from the intended purpose of severely punishing criminals who commit unspeakable acts against a persecuted minority group, the religious activists claim the laws are a guarded effort to "eradicate" their beliefs.
Filed by the Thomas More Law Center -- which bills itself as the religious answer to the American Civil Liberties Union -- the complaint claims that protecting gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people "is an effort to eradicate religious beliefs opposing the homosexual agenda from the marketplace of ideas by demonizing, vilifying, and criminalizing such beliefs as a matter of federal law and policy."
The first thing that I have to say is that not ALL Christians share the same animosity toward the gay community that this group does.
The second point is that if your "religious freedom" is endangered by laws protecting a minority group you may want to seriously re-examine your brand of Christianity.
I may not have a good attendance record when it comes to church, but I am still relatively certain that the theme of Christianity has always been to love your fellow man and not to pass judgement. It would seem to me that this law would fall right in line with that philosophy.
Of course you would never learn that if you attend a church like the Anchorage Baptist Temple.
I'm stunned and disgusted that any Christian group would come out and say that this is a threat to their religious freedom.
ReplyDeleteGroups like this give Christianity a bad name.
Gryphen, don't be silly. Everybody knows Christianity is all about murdering gay people. [/sarcasm]
ReplyDeleteI can't fully enjoy my Christianity, if I can't say hateful things and be intolerent of those who disagree with me.
ReplyDeleteYep. Sounds like organized religion alright.
They should be corrected. Their particular brand of religion is an affront to the memory and family of Mathew Shepard. May that beautiful American son rest in peace.
ReplyDeleteYep. These groups always make me wonder, whatever happened to Love Thy Neighbor, God is Love and all that?
ReplyDeleteIs that not part of christianity anymore?
Guess it's just been a long time since I went to church.
This is a good example of the Seven Mountain Mandate way of thinking. The Dominionists will keep trying. They have been doing it for years.
ReplyDeleteIf you take the wording from the lawsuit file from the upright moral folks at the Thomas Moore Law Center and substitute the words “gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people” and substitute them with “blacks” you get a better sense of just how offensive and un-Christlike this actually is.
ReplyDeleteI remember when the Talibangelicals liked to spout “what would Jesus do?” I am pretty damn sure it’s NOT what these asshats are doing.
Fight for your right to hate! It's what Jesus would do! The Satanic government is oppressing Christians by taking away their right to persecute!
ReplyDelete[/fundie]
WWJD?
ReplyDeleteWhy is that only a bumper sticker for these people? Maybe they should write THAT on their hand!!
I bet Jesus would not feel threatened over not being able to demonize a group of people to the point where others might harm them.
This crew wants everyone who engages in sexual activity at all to be labeled a sex offender, forever. So, it will come to pass.
ReplyDeleteOh, no! These "christians" are being persecuted because they can't attack or murder gay people! I really wish this was something from the Onion, but sadly there really is a group so ignorant as to demand the right to incite violence against minority groups. Pathetic.
ReplyDeleteHELP HELP! WE'RE BEING OPPRESSED!!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a bunch of pussies.
Take note:
ReplyDeleteAlan Keyes serves on their board, according to their website.
Also, Thomas More died for his beliefs, he didn't kill others for them.
I agree Gryphen. I was always taught that Christianity was about love and kindness. Even my Southern Republican in-laws agree with me on this point. It is disgusting to see Christianity portrayed as a religion of hate rather than love.
ReplyDeleteGuess who works for the Thomas More Law Center?
ReplyDeleteAnswer: Attorney Kim Daniels who is on SarahPAC's payroll.
Small world, eh??
I think Christian group threatens my freedom.
ReplyDeleteI'm so tired of being embarrassed by people claiming to be Christian. It makes it super-hard for those that try to be real Christians, you know?
ReplyDeleteI truly fear these people. They frighten me not only because of the damage they do, but of the image they project for my faith. It's like they've never read the New Testament, you know? If Jesus doesn't matter, then please, go live in Iran. Move someplace where homosexuality and abortion are illegal. Move somewhere you can practice your beliefs without feeling persecuted. The Islamic Republic of Iran and Saudi Arabia would love to have you, I'm sure.
The Thomas More Law Center is probably underwriten by the Jim Dobson center - Focus on Family founder who is also underwriting Sarah. This law center is trying to pass a law on hate, Palin talks hate, what happened to that all loving God anyways?
ReplyDeleteNo one is trying to prevent these idiots from holding and speaking about their vile beliefs. Do these they really think that "religious freedom" includes the right to commit crimes??
ReplyDeleteNow, if there was a law against criminal stupidity, I could see why they'd be nervous.
This really chaps my ass. I read your blog all the time, Grif, but THIS made me want to comment.
ReplyDeleteI was at the University of Wyoming when Matthew Shepard happened.,I hold a Master's degree from UW. Those Christians-in-name only DESCENDED on our campus, en masse, to shove their agendas down our throats. 'Protestors' who were -literally- carrying signs that said "God hates Fags." ...among other things. Matthew had the shit beat out of him and was tied to a fence behind the old Wal Mart left to die.
I guess the point I'm trying to make is what everyone else is, too, which is that the "christian" groups are all too happy to push their agenda on anyone and everyone, but I'm too angry (still, after all these years) to articulate it. Feel free to edit out the sweary bits, but it really does make me that mad. They turned a tragic, unneccesary death into a circus show.
So I'll say it this way: Fuck you, you fucking fucks.
Spot the LIE in Pam Tebow's story:
ReplyDeleteShe was 37 at the time she conceived Tim, and the initial diagnosis from doctors was that the child she carried looked like a block of fetal tissue, not a baby. Tebow explains she was willing to ignore the doctor's advice and live by God's plan - even if it resulted in her death. Pam Tebow relates how her physicians gave her medicine to help with the symptoms of the pregnancy, but felt "compelled" while reading the Book of Timothy to go and double check its side-effects. Since the medicine was known to cause birth defects in children, she threw away the rest of the medication and soldiered on through the rest of the term.
Wasn't it a drug she took prior to getting pregnant that was a problem? and yet they got pregnant again ON PURPOSE because Mr. Tebow thought God wanted another preacher in the family.
(Susie here)
ReplyDeleteI just went to their site and clicked on the "Contact Us" and sent them a piece of my mind. I am a Christian, and that means that I need to follow Jesus' commandment to love one another. I reminded them that that is what it means to be a Christian, and that they need to change what they are doing. I'm sure they have already deleted my unwanted message, but I feel better for sending it to them. I suggest you all make yourself feel better, too, and send them your thoughts.
If a judge doesn't throw this out, no decent, God- and Jesus-loving person will want to be identified as a Christian.
ReplyDeleteThese folks have gone off the rails and are well on their way to a Nazi-based worldview. Because they seem to be motivated and manipulated more by emotion than reason, they could easily engage in violence against non-believers or anyone who does not look like them.
I am so ashamed that these folks are gaining in number and public profile.
It's as if a mental virus has taken hold in this country as it did in Communist China under Mao or in Nazi Germany under Hitler. People who once lived quietly with their biases have now been fanned into a growing hysteria.
Unfortunately, they also are the ones who most strongly believe in assault weapons, and preparing for the "revolution."
While I don't mind guns per se (shotguns and some handguns), I am totally at a loss as to why anyone needs assault weapons. They certainly are not sporting.
I blame greedy right-wing organizations such as the NRA for trying to lift all restrictions on assault weapons when they are aware that the number of killings are rising and that the tide of blind hatred is rising.
Sorry for the rant, but I am tired of seeing the No Gun symbols and signs at the entrances to libraries, schools and churches. When we have to resort to that, we as a nation have become barbaric.
These so-called "religious" hate groups are baseline cause of this problem. They will be the first to kill rather than love their neighbors.
To Gasman, you are right. I hope judges make your argument about the odious nature of these laws by substituting "black" for "homosexual, transgender, lesbian or bisexual." There should be no group free to stir up hate against another, particularly based upon bogus religious beliefs.
ReplyDeleteHey, I'm confused. Isn't Palin for mandatin'? Isn't "mandatin" what homosexuals do?
ReplyDeleteTo Anon @9:20-
ReplyDelete::applause::
Because I was curious, I looked up Pastor Levon Yuille and then went to the website of The Bible Church in Ypsilanti, Michigan. First I was amazed that this is an Afro-American pastor and church. Then I looked at this page and I found this curious:
ReplyDeletehttp://biblechurchypsi.org/history.html
I thought that churches were not allowed to publish blatent preferential propaganda in regard to political parties because of their non-profit status. Pastor Yuille is also the Chair of the Michigan Black Republican Council of Southern Michigan. Guess I was wrong...
"is an effort to eradicate religious beliefs opposing the homosexual agenda from the marketplace of ideas by demonizing, vilifying, and criminalizing such beliefs as a matter of federal law and policy."
ReplyDeleteYes, just like Sweet Jesus taught you, so what the hell is your problem?
So in that regard, an Al Qaeda militant killing Americans could claim religious freedom and couldn't be put on trial. These folks are genius!!
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting to note that one of Sarah Palin's political consultants, Kim Daniels, works for the Thomas More Law Center. Doesn't give me a warm fuzzy feeling. I certainly hope that Sarah gets asked questions about whether she supports hate crimes against those whose lifestyle she disagrees with. Gosh, some people don't think that premarital sex is such a good thing either -- should those people be killed too (because if so, there won't be too many Palins left). Regarding these hate mongers being anti-sex, however, nothing could be farther from the truth. They are often obsessed with sex, and I suspect that they are projecting their own "weakness of the flesh" by advocating violence against those who are openly gay. Kind of the Larry Craig syndrome...actually quite a few ultra-right wing politicians fit this profile, when you think about it.
ReplyDeleteThe last time the Thomas More Law Center tried to turn religion into law, the good folks down in Dover, PA, kicked their skanky asses back into the closet. The skanks apparently did not learn from that ass whooping.
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