Making a Thought a Crime

The supposed original intent of the Hate Crimes Act, HR 1913 and S. 909, was said to prevent discrimination against individuals based on their sexual orientation, both perceived and actual. Through redefinition of “deviant behavior,” these bills redefine over thirty deviant behaviors into accepted forms of societal practice, including but not limited to; pedophilia, sexual activity with a prepubescent child; necrophilia, sexual arousal/activity with a corpse; and prostitution. This poses a problem in several ways. The First Amendment protects free speech and the right of a person to write, think, and speak anything he wishes, but it stops there. Nowhere does it endorse the illicit and immoral actions of a person. The Founding Fathers believed that this country should be based upon Christianity and Christian principles. Without these principles, there is no solid foundation from which to move forward in a logical progression to prove that something or some act is illegal, immoral, or harmful. Second, these bills are one step closer to the “spy-on-your-neighbor” policies so infamous in the tyrannical regimes which have murdered millions of innocents in the last century. The Founding Fathers knew that without proof of damages, there can be no crime. They also knew that the freedom to think, believe, and say anything a person wishes is his own prerogative. However, that is where it should stop. It is one thing to say something, but another to practice it. And when someone practices illegal or immoral behavior, he should be punished. These bills are not really meant to “protect” anyone. People have a choice in all situations of life, including their choice of sexual “expression.” These bills are, however, an attempt to extend the tentacles of the gargantuan government bureaucracy into areas where it has no jurisdiction. It will turn a right into a privilege by forcing people who do not believe these “deviant behaviors” to be acceptable to shut their mouths or face the consequences. Succinctly put, behavior is not speech. It is an act, and therefore is by its very nature a deliberate choice. But the difference between these two volitional acts is that speech is not yet subject to punitive action.