- Homosexual activist Rep. Barney Frank says the federal
hate crimes bill HR 1913 could be approved by the House Judiciary Committee
soon after lawmakers return to Congress on April 20.
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- The Washington Blade, online homosexual news magazine,
says, "US Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass), the longest-serving openly gay
member of Congress, announced Thursday that the House Judiciary Committee
would consider the legislation the week of April 20. He's expecting the
committee to pass the bill and that the House will vote on the bill later
this spring." According to the Blade, Frank says, "I look forward
to it being passed and signed by a president who is committed to ending
discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity."
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- The Blade also quotes Joe Solmonese, president of the
Human Rights Campaign: "The fact that we now introduced the bill in
the House and are set to move in the next few weeks is going to start
this process, and hopefully it'll be done and on the president's desk in
as expeditious a period as possible."
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- Becky Dansky, federal legislative director for the National
Gay & Lesbian Task Force, is also hopeful. "We anticipate that
things will move very quickly when the House comes back from recess. The
committee markup [will be] followed by floor consideration almost immediately."
The Blade concludes, "Solmonese and Dansky said they expected a House
floor vote on the legislation later this month or in May, but the timeline
was less clear in the U.S. Senate."
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- As NPN has predicted, Rep. Conyers' new bill was designed
to be moved very rapidly through Judiciary. It is exactly the same legislation
that was passed in the House two years ago; thus, we warned that the House
Judiciary, dominated by pro-hate bill liberals, probably would not even
hold hearings. This is also the opinion of Solmonese. "As for congressional
hearings, Solmonese said they won't take place in the House and he wasn't
certain about whether any would happen in the Senate. Dansky also said
she didn't think hearings were needed in either chamber of Congress."
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- Meanwhile, most major Christian/conservative websites,
while opposed to a federal hate crimes bill in general, have not specifically
mentioned the existence of Conyers' bill. (These include Focus on the Family,
Family Research Council, Concerned Women for America, American Center for
Law and Justice, Liberty Counsel, etc.)!
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- All who love freedom must make up the difference and
protest NOW! Call toll-free 1-877-851-6437 or toll 1-202-225-3121. Tell
your two Senators and House member, "Please don't vote for Rep. Conyers'
very dangerous hate crimes bill, HR 1913, the Local Law Enforcement Hate
Crimes Prevention Act."
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- Homosexual activists are urging people to phone, email
and fax Congress in favor of HR 1913. Again, the Blade: "Although
passage of the legislation is widely expected, Dansky said supporters of
the bill "can't afford to get lazy." She said the strategy for
passing the bill should involve Hill lobbying and grassroots mobilization."
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- Will lovers of freedom do as much? It's now or never
for YOU to pick up the phone and fight back!
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