The Freedom From Religion Foundation today announced it is offering a $1,000 award to anyone coming forward with information leading to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrator(s) of a hate crime directed against the Foundation and gays. The Foundation's "Keep Religion OUT of Government" billboard on the 2600 block of North Avenue, Grand Junction, Colo., was defaced, apparently last weekend. A vandal X'ed out the word "religion," and painted in the word "fag."
"This is a hate crime directed both at the nonreligious and at gays—it's a perversion of our message honoring a precious constitutional principle," said Foundation Co-President, Annie Laurie Gaylor.
"The hate crime shows how important it truly is to 'keep religion out of government'—to keep homophobic dogma and blasphemy laws off of our civil statutes."
Anyone with information is encouraged to phone the Foundation, at 608-256-8900, so we may solve this crime.
Comments
Vandalism is a crime, no matter if it is your neighbor's car or a billboard. The law is already in place to deal with vandalism. The punishment should not be any different if the motive is jealousy or gang rivalry. I do not like terms like "hate crime". Our government should not be in the business of playing thought police.
Catch these people, by all means. But also catch the person who keys your car. No one has the right to destroy property they don't own. But our government has no right to tell us who to like. The common law of not physically harming people or their property already exists AND THAT is what should be ENFORCED.
I am an atheist but I do not want to see the good intent of ending bigotry come at the cost of living under a Big Brother government playing thought police.
Hello Brian37. Hate crime legislation isn't about trying to get inside the head of any perpetrator. It is a recognition of what this country stands for and what it stands against. It stands for equal rights for all and the recognition that a crime committed against anyone because of race, religion, gender or sexual identity, is an attack against the principles and ideals enshrined in our Constitution. Even if there were no further penalties attached to such an act other than those the law allows against the physical crime itself, the repudiation of the way of thinking that led to the act is the key point of this legislation and a statement worth making.
I don't care. It is BAD LAW LANGUAGE to label anything an emotional crime.
Dead is dead, be it murder over robbing someone for money and killing them, be it over catching your mate in bed with someone else and killing them, or killing someone because of their race or religion. Minorities deserve the same protection under the law, not special protection. REMEMBER that while talking to an atheist.
THE LAW is already in place. No one is allowed to harm someone else for any reason. No one is allowed to destroy property they don't own. Enforce those laws, make tougher penalties for those crimes. BUT do not use government to even imply that a human being is not allowed to have emotions.
YOU think you are doing the right thing, but long term, it is bad for everyone. If you want to do the right thing, use the same First Amendment to use your own voice. But don't punish people more or less than anyone else committing the same crime, no mater what the reason is.
Hate crime legislation is not about what this country stands for. As it is anyone can bash and trash Christians but don't you dare say one word about Muslims,Islam, Atheists, Witches or show any gender preference one way or another. No one should vandalize period but the hate crime laws proposed are nonsense.
GMC,
your view on this subject appears to be a bit skewed. Freedom of speech is applied equally. But destruction of private property is illegal (which is what this is).
GMC,
Any time a church or religious display is vandalized it is prosecuted as a hate crime. Why do you complain when non-Christians are given equal treatment?
From their web site the freedom folks have no problem with any religion accept christianity. They are Jesus haters.
Their original billboard is a hate crime. Hypocrites. Intolerant bigots.
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