Oh My! Scarborough: 'Preaching About to be Criminalized!'

What I find most amazing about this hyperbole is that it will be echoed on TownHall.com and other venues for hate without the slightest bit of questioning. While selective observation continues to be the mainstay of research for this crowd, critical thinking has noticeably left the building.

At Vision America, Rick Scarborough writes the following:

Preaching about to be Criminalized!!!

Representative Sheila Jackson-Lee confirmed that she reintroduced a federal Hate Crimes Bill, H.R 256, to Congress this past week. We have to stop this from happening! This legislation is an immediate threat to our First Amendment right to free speech! We already have hate crime legislation. This legislation is designed to add homosexuals to existing legislation.

Ooh. Ouchie.

... For example, if your Grandmother is mugged the criminal may get 6 months probation, but if the victim is a homosexual, the crime immediately becomes more serious and the criminal may face 5 years or more, depending upon the mandated sentences affixed to the crime by the legislation.

Not exactly. The sexual orientation of the victim is irrelevant. If the victim is assaulted because he or she is perceived to be gay, then it becomes a hate crime. The idea is to take the decision out of Sheriff ("you shouldn't be flaunting it") Bubba's hands.

But please, Rick, what does this have to do with criminalizing preaching?

A similar bill was passed in Canada in 1971 making it a federal crime to criticize homosexuality quoting the Bible from the pulpit or over the airwaves. Pastors in Canada face a $5,000 fine for the first offense and a fine plus prison time for every offense thereafter.

Now I get it. This hate crime legislation makes Canadian law enforceable in the USA. It also invalidates the First Amendment to the US Constitution. I wonder how this affects Canadian law.