Reaction to the 2009 U.S. hate-crime
bill by conservative Christian groups

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Review of the proposed federal hate crimes legislation:

As of 2009-JUL-20:

	H.R. 1913, the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009 (LLEHCPA), was passed by the House.
	The corresponding bill S. 909 with the same name -- popularly referred to as the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act (MSHCPA) -- was passed by the Senate. 1

This is merely the latest hate crime bill to be introduced to Congress. None of the nine similar bills that have been introduced since 1999 have succeeded. However, this one is strongly supported by President Obama and may  become law.

It would update the federal hate crimes act of 1968. That law has applied only to certain violent hate crimes motivated a hatred of a victim's color, race, national origin or religion. LLEHCPA would add four new protected classes: sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, and disability to the list. It would also broaden the locations where the law can be applied.

Topics covered in this section:

	What the bill says. Conservative concerns about: 1. Conspiracy charges; 2. definition of sexual orientation
	More concerns: 3: Special privileges; 4: Limits on hate speech; 5: Bill not needed.
	Additional concerns about free speech, equal justice, etc. Part 1 Part 2
	Analysis of article by James Williamson, a lawyer from Tulsa, OK

Related essays:

	Coverage of the 2009 hate crime bill by the conservative media
	U.S. hate-crimes statistics
	Specific quotations by religious and social conservatives on the 2007 bill

References used:

The following information sources were used to prepare and update the above essay. The hyperlinks are not necessarily still active today.

1. "H.R. 1582," text, at: http://thomas.loc.gov/
2. Text etc. of the "Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act," Thomas, at: http://thomas.loc.gov/

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Copyright © 2007 to 2009 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
First posted: 2007-APR-18
Latest update: 2009-JUL-22
Author: B.A. Robinson

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