Friday, February 16, 2007

Court case on hate language - Words "Natural Family" alleged to be hate speech

The following excerpts from an article entitled "Natural family' called derogatory to 'gays' give us a good idea where hate crime bills are headed.

"A special session of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is being held today at the Stanford University Law School where lawyers are arguing whether the words "natural family, marriage and family values" constitute "hate speech" that could intimidate city of Oakland workers.

"The words were used by two city employees who wanted to launch a group of people who shared their interests and posted a notice on a city bulletin board after a series of notices from homosexual activists were delivered to them via the city's e-mail system, bulletin boards and memo distribution system.

"But Robert Bobb, then city manager, and Joyce Hicks, then deputy director of the Community and Economic Development Agency, ordered their notice removed, because it contained "statements of a homophobic nature" and promoted "sexual-orientation-based harassment."

See this link for rest of this article.

Arkansas state senator Hank Wilkins (D-Pine Bluff) is sponsor of the Arkansas hate crime bill SB264. It was on the agenda this week to be heard before the Senate Judiciary Committee but was postpones. Wilkins' email is hwilkins@arkleg.state.ar.us

The Senate Judiciary Committee members are as follows: Chair, Ed Wilkinson, Vice Chair Shawn Womack, Members: Ruth Whitaker, Jim Luker, Sue Madison, Irma Hunter Brown, Mary Anne Salmon, Robert Thompson. You can find their contact numbers and emails from home page of www.wpaag.org by clicking "Contact Legislators"

At least four of those, in my opinion, would be likely to vote for such a bill. Those who oppose the bill need to go to work to stop it.

1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Liberals are SUCH hypocrites! Free speech for them, but not for everybody else that happens to disagree with them....and be right in doing so.

5:07 PM, February 17, 2007  

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