Pat Robertson denounces hate-crimes bill, falsely claims it doesn't cover religious bias
By David Neiwert Thursday Oct 29, 2009 4:30pm
[H/t Dave E/]
Yesterday, a genuinely historic moment passed with scarcely a blip of attention from the media: President Obama signed into law the nation's first genuine federal bias-crimes statute.
Everyone interested in advancing civil rights in America and defending the nation's minorities from the deprivation of their rights by terroristic thugs -- particularly their historic victims, from African Americans and Asian Americans to Latinos, to Jews and other religious minorities, to gays and lesbians and transgender folk -- have real cause to celebrate. Brian Levin has a nice collection of their thoughts at HuffPo.
Then, of course, there's the Religious Right, which is holding its collective breath and pouting over the event. Case in point: Pat Robertson at The 700 Club, ripping into the new law both yesterday and today on his show.
His basis for opposing the law, however, is completely detached from reality. For instance, Robertson argues:
Robertson: You know, there’s a law – what about a law that says it’s a federal crime to attack somebody because of his religious beliefs? Not a chance!
Robertson seems completely unaware that in fact religious bias is one of the categories of bias crime covered by hate-crime laws -- and it has been from the very start, since these laws were first enacted on the state level in the early 1980s!
Hint to Pat: Religion was covered as a bias category from the start because Jews have long been some of the most common victims of bias crimes. For instance, in the FBI's hate-crime statistics for 2007, some 1,400 of the nation's 7,600 or so reported bias crimes were of the "anti-religion" category; of those, some 118 were varieties of anti-Christian bias.
Indeed, he needs only read the text of the the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act to see that religion is one of the categories of bias it covers:
“(1) OFFENSES INVOLVING ACTUAL OR PERCEIVED RACE, COLOR, RELIGION, OR NATIONAL ORIGIN.—Whoever, whether or not acting under color of law, willfully causes bodily injury to any person or, through the use of fire, a firearm, a dangerous weapon, or an explosive or incendiary device, attempts to cause bodily injury to any person, because of the actual or perceived race, color, religion, or national origin of any person—
“(2) OFFENSES INVOLVING ACTUAL OR PERCEIVED RELIGION, NATIONAL ORIGIN, GENDER, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, GENDER IDENTITY, OR DISABILITY.—
“(A) IN GENERAL.—Whoever, whether or not acting under color of law, in any circumstance described in subparagraph (B) or paragraph (3), willfully causes bodily injury to any person or, through the use of fire, a firearm, a dangerous weapon, or an explosive or incendiary device, attempts to cause bodily injury to any person, because of the actual or perceived religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability of any person—
, claiming that the law will attack people's free-speech rights. This is, of course, a completely bogus claim, since the bill has very specific free-speech language built into it.
Finally, as Media Matters points out, religious discrimination has long garnered special federal attention in the federal criminal code.
The mewling and fearmongering from the religious right should actually tell progressives they're on the right track here.
Below, I've preserved video footage of President Obama signing the bill into law.
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Yeah it means you can't goose-step the Jews to the ovens, patty.
Did little German girls get Easy Bake ovens back then?
if the devil ever had a real face--
it's this tired old fucker!
jesus does not hate ANYONE..
and this is from this bastard's own bible.
at the temple...
And we love him for it.
*
the prince of peace could not keep his cool were the Bankers at the temple.
It puts our current economic situation in perspective, esp. considering the role of the banksters in our perennial hardships for hundreds of years (if not thousands really...)
funny thing is jesus was not so much against
the money changers, but the fact they were
doing it in the church...
Temple.
... it was not just that they were in the temple, but the usury rates they were charging. They were extracting wealth for no labor exchange.
There are more passages in the bible against usury (i.e. interest) than homosexuality. And I am yet to see any of these Christians flipping their sh*t about Wallstreet...
Thanks.
In America the church is big business.
The Easy-Bake™ wasn't introduced until 1963.
He's just pissed we can no longer arrest people for looking too Islamic.
about criticising a law against HATE CHRIMES.
I wonder if Pat Robertson has to buy custom loafers to cover his hoofs...
victimizing other people, and to the American Taliban, stopping them from victimizing others is tantamount to victimizing them!
Drop dead Mullah Robertson.
fuck religion...it is, afterall, a personal lifestyle choice
No one is born a Christian, It's a choice of lifestyle.
I mean what is the group that chooses its lifestyle, tries to convert the unwilling to it, pursues and tries to indoctrinate children into it, flaunts said lifestyle in everyone's faces, and demand special rights?
The amount of projection is not believable.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nr4ROmCH9tY
Without the bigotry found in religious organizations like Pat Robertson's and other religious fundamentalist churches, there would be no need for hate crimes legislation.
Without the bigotry of white racists which would include the likes of Pat Robertson, there would be no need for hate crimes laws. Religious "Born Again" Christians hate the state anyway, so screw them on this one! Too bad these religious freaks like Robertson cannot handle it. In Maine, a Catholic Priest read a homophobic plea for his parishoners to oppose a same sex marriage referendum. This hate leads to the targeted killings of gay and lesbian Americans. The murders of Matthew Shepherd by gay haters and the targted killing of Dianne Whipple by White Aryan racists using their dogs to do so, in California are not isolated incidents but patterns of hate for the "other" in American society. Read up on the Dinna Whipple dog mauling case. Her White Aryan neighbors did not like the fact she was a lesbian. I heard more banter about Michael Vick than the dog mauling case targeting a lesbian in the media as well. Sick American society we have!
Without the KKK-like hate of Mexicans and other people of color there would be no need for hate crimes laws.
Without the hatred and justification of violence against women and abortion doctors, there would be no need for hate crimes laws.
According to the Family Research Council's, Tony Perkins, article "Why Congress Should Reject Federal 'Hate Crimes' Bill" from April 21 2009:
H.R. 1913 "would, for the first time, allow the federal government to step in and prosecute any violent crime anywhere in the country that “is motivated by prejudice” against a number of protected characteristics, including “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” (that is, cross-dressing and sex changes)....It violates the “equal protection of the laws” by protecting some victims more than others. This is a principle which is guaranteed by the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and is even carved above the entrance to the Supreme Court....It punishes thoughts and not just actions. Advocates of the bill deny this because it only authorizes prosecution of someone who “willfully causes bodily injury” or “attempts to cause bodily injury.” But such acts are already crimes under state law..."
Perkins also added that:
"...By ratifying the “thought crimes” mentality, this bill paves the way for future expansions of its scope. Indeed, Christians have already been prosecuted under thought crime laws for peacefully expressing disapproval of homosexual behavior in Sweden, England, Canada, and even in Philadelphia. Even under current federal law, the 1990 “Hate Crime Statistics Act” defines “hate crimes” much more broadly as “crimes that manifest evidence of prejudice,” and the statistics collected under that law include even non-violent offenses such as “intimidation.”
Perkins also said that:
"...It shows contempt for the moral and religious views of millions of Americans by including “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” as protected categories. By distinguishing between an ordinary crime and a so-called “hate crime” solely on the basis of the perpetrator’s disapproval of homosexual conduct or sex changes, the bill sends a message that such disapproval alone-even if expressed peacefully and lovingly-constitutes a form of “hate” that is equivalent to racial bigotry. This is an insult to many compassionate individuals who sincerely object to such conduct, not only based on religious and moral boundaries that are thousands of years old, but also based on well-founded concerns about the serious health risks of such conduct...."
sit in his outhouse, spank the monkey and say jesus loves me.
Terry looks like a linebacker in drag.
fake?
Strictly prohibits any form of abortion. Okay, alright. Woman are to be subservient to man, I'm following you. Gays shall be protected under this law.......I'm out.
Maybe they should pass an 11th Commandment
Thou shalt not threaten a president with guns.
Or is it the 5th depending on which silly tradition of superstition one chooses to lobotomise themselves after.
I always thought that it was ironic that these idiots could not even agree on the supposed order and verbiage of the commandments.
Oh they agree, it's the Protestant version.
It's like these goobers don't know that before that was a Catholic and before that a Jewish version that are different.
So what did ever happen to roy moore, lecture circuit?
I guess Pat's taking a break from doing the Lord's work running those poor black Africans out of their villages who are standing in the way of his diamond mining operations.
Praise the Lord!
Get something right?
I'm sure he'll make up for it, by never making sure it's enforced.
I'm not shocked at all.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JBeZUwhAqM
I'm shocked! Shocked I tells ya!
If some folks tied Matt Sheppard to a fence and beat him leaving him for dead because he was a straight Christian could you just imagine? The Christian right with Batty Patty at the forefront would be the first ones calling for all kinds of "special protections" for Christians.
... and Christians haven't shut up about that for 2 millennia. Heck, every year... come Easter, we just don't hear the end of it.
Ain't that the truth. Now if only Matt Sheppard would rise from the grave and kick all their asses.
What really smarts is Homophobia at the Washington Post
I'll bet he allots time for feats of strength at his annual Christmas party.
I thought that was a Festivus tradition?
http://druidry.org/obod/festivals/arthan.html
I am really sick of Pat Robertson.
How dare he pass himself of as a Christian.
His brand of hatred and divisiveness worked under Bush but the American people are finally waking up to the crack-pot extreme Right.
Extreme Christians are a much bigger threat to our democracy than the Taliban.
Leaders have you heard say" We should just off him"?
I forget who it was that he said that about. But he did say that.
but I think he's called for assassinating other world leaders too.
"I know it sounds somewhat Machiavellian and evil, to think that you could send a squad in to take out somebody like Osama bin Laden, or to take out the head of North Korea," Robertson said in 1999. "But isn't it better to do something like that, to take out Milosevic, to take out Saddam Hussein, rather than to spend billions of dollars on a war that harms innocent civilians and destroys the infrastructure of a country?" And in 2004, Robertson reiterated his support for assassinating Saddam Hussein. "Our forces are going to war, and we support them," he said. "But if I had been doing it, I think I would have much preferred the assassination route."
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2005/augu...
But I could be wrong.
somebody tell that corpse to lay down, he's been dead for a long time. He's been brain dead for a lot longer. Time for your dirt nap, scumbag.
gets me laughing at 2am, thanks
part 1
http://www.southparkstudios.com/clips/151788
part 2 http://www.southparkstudios.com/clips/151849
http://www.religioustolerance.org/reconstr.htm
Liars for jesus.
WWJD?
Lie his ass off.
Eusebius on Holy Lying.
Thu, 10/29/2009 - 18:24 — BigD145
WWJD?
Lie his ass off.
____________________________________________________________________
Then wouldn't he have to walk to Jerusalem for Passover?
What... Aren't you two on speaking terms?
So let me guess. This was on MSNBC, the "liberal's answer to Fox News" (according to the right wing.) Am I right?
Robertson's own channel.
The 700 Club is on one of the networks, I think NBC, as well, usually during the late morning.
Pun intended.
Maybe in Miami or West Palm Beach; not a market I'd have expected to see it on a network.
Anyone who knows anything realizes and understands that it was CNN Founder Ted Turner who gave Pat Robertson and the 700 Club their start.....on the Turner Broadcasting Network.
So right wing attacks against the "liberal media" are ridiculous......
It's all about the Green-Money......
a friend of mine in Nebraska, Abraham of Lincoln, agrees.
None of the current Hate-Crime legislation matters to him unless it SAYS "christian" right on it.
Robertson wants special, different, BETTER laws than there are for those of the Jewish faith.
*
Bitter old man. He should be shouting something in a park.
I didn't know we had an epidemic of people hitting homosexuals, why is this legislation needed? Is it any worse to strike a gay person than a straight person? Both are equally wrong so why the special treatment? Anyone here actually know?
If that wasn't such a stupid question - someone might care about it.
*
I don't know of a lot of gay bashing... seriously, but i don't see tv news.
Hmmm... Let's see... How about those silly old laws against someone breaking into your house and robbing you... Most of us have only had that happen a few times in our Health Care-less lives. Sheeesh... what wasteful legislation.
or serious?
facetious with your moronic statement earlier....
but no need to answer, you attack just did. As for the answer to my moronic question bamboozled did... it was one guy not an epidemic. That was my question. Are you TRYING, very poorly, that there is some epidemic that only morons are unaware of? I didn't think so.
... hate crimes have nothing to do with epidemic, it has everything to do with providing the law with a tool to properly deal with the context of a hate crime.
It is not the same for someone to be killed just because they are gay/black/hispanic/whatever and for that same person to be killed in the middle of a robbery, or to die after a car crash. The outcome is the same, the circumstances are not.
The Law needs to consider the proper context to properly deal with the crime. Not a hard concept to understand.
Should we wait until there is a theft "epidemic" before passing laws against stealing?
Sorry, I thought I was pretty innocuous...
[We try to discourage the ignore list announcements-Sitemonitor]
.
you believe that? ok, I always figured if 1 person killed another or struck another it was wrong.
You are saying it is more wrong based on the persons motivation - or a perceived motivation. I see. It is a strange concept and I think there is more to it. It was a broad based law about ALL hate or a selective hate that was just passed?
This is abou 1 guy? Wow.
Not that easy of a concept if you approach it objectively. But, bahhh, most are told what to think and do so uncritically. I don't hate anyone for that.
The concept of law needing a context for dealing with different crimes and gradations... usually it is not a hard idea to grasp if you have both a functioning mind and basic human decency.
Cheers.
Law does NOT NEED graduations. Are you serious? Do you not understand the white and black of the law. This side of the bars or that? There is no sorta prison.
were not part of the curriculum in your troll school.
Anyhow, there is gray in the law. That is how the wifey of your boy Bush got to kill a person and not serve a single day in prison.
I will bid thee farewell, obviously you are a troll looking for your daily feed. And I am not in the mood to deal with your droppings. Cheers.
manslaughter, negligent homicide, self defence, insanity...you're right "Law does NOT NEED graduations." If I kill someone because they break into my house, it's the same as taking my eyes off the road and killing a pedestrian or going out buying a gun and lying in wait for the soon to be dead guy. "Law does NOT NEED graduations."
Throw the shovel down, or you'll end up in China, dude.
does crabby not know English or is he from a country without laws?
In the first place the law is NOT about "one guy"!
In the second place it does NOT apply to "only gays"!
In the third place what the law does is NOT say a crime is "more wrong"! It says there is an additional crime. Not unlike it being a second crime if you commit a crime with a firearm rather then unarmed.
In the fourth place if you actually READ the damn thing you might NOT be quite so confused. But I have my doubts about that! I'm questioning whether you aren't confused at all and are only pretending to be because you desire to confuse others into letting Hitler commit genocide, the ultimate hate crime.
Some Gay Hate Crimes Ignored
Jack Price Gay Beating: Daniel Aleman, Daniel Rodriguez Arrested For Hate Crime Attack
3 found guilty of hate crime for assaulting gay man
15 Year Old Boy’s Killing, Labeled a Hate Crime, Stuns a Town
Really, it does sound pretty callous and moronic in this day and age to think one crime would generate landmark legislation.
Take the one step Robertson won't and educate yourself. Be more of a human than he is. Google 'gay hate crime.'
BTW, these crimes are generally alcohol or drug fueled, and committed by groups of men against one, like a pack of killer dogs going after a kitten.
The guy who was tied to a post and beaten, then left to die solely because he was gay?
And yes, people are targeted purely because of their religion, as was shown today in Los Angeles:
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/10/29/synag...
but that really wasn't the question. Thanks though.
Except that story (and the police) are not saying that the men were targeted "purely because of their religion."
To quote your link: " 'We don't know whether this was a robbery or whether it was an attack on these two individuals because of their presence at this synagogue,' [Deputy Chief] Moore said."
If it is found that the perp was attacking them because of their faith, then it would (and should) be covered by the act.
Who knew?
Isn't it time we sent this jackass to the Moon??
Talk about a semi-public dweeb that adds absolutely NO VALUE to the public discussion except when he thinks for political good (his own) he raises his voice above the noise levels...
Robertson is from the past (19th century)..He should stay there and remember he sounds like part of the squeaky wheel... If you can't keep him in the past keep him in South Carolina - it's the same..
NOOOOOOO! The Moon is pure and innocent and waiting for us to go there and create a colony as in Robert Heinlein's stories.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFSRs7iqAv8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JDaOOw0MEE
Jerry Falwell's in hell keeping Pat's seat warm....er.
And hate groups *always* cultivate a siege mentality amongst their members. Robertson knows his crowd, and he knows how to appeal to them.
doesn't get his own show?
You mean people actually look to this old fool for wise sagely advice?
And are these guys still getting tax breaks? Because if they're politicizing the pulpit, they need to cough that money up.
Reverend Senile STILL HAS A TV SHOW is reason enough for
501(c)3....
Of course, he can always run away to his diamond mines in Africa.
Sheesh.
It appears sadly enough, that in the not too distant future, reality will no longer evade this spiritual man, at which time it will become a moot point. I thought the conservatives were all about individual responsibility? He seems to fear a certain culpability and rightfully so.
"[on Gay Day at Disney World] "I would warn Orlando that you're right in the way of some serious hurricanes and I don't think I'd be waving those flags
in God's face if I were you, This is not a message of hate; this is a message
of redemption. But a condition like this will bring about the destruction of
your nation. It'll bring about terrorist bombs; it'll bring earthquakes,
tornadoes and possibly a meteor."[Pat Robertson, "The 700 Club" June 6, 1998]
Key words...Moral instead of good/ness or bad/ness, Our values un-defined and Liberty un-defined, just to name a few.
Then he turned around and sold his network to Disney. Money over principles par for the course for Robertson.
"The 'Christian spirit' which persecutes the gay and lesbian community is the same as that which perpetrated the Crusades on the Arab world, which outlawed Copernicus, Galileo, Bacon, and Darwin, which justified the enslavement and segregation of African Americans, which kept silence during the Holocaust, and silenced women as spokes people for God. As it always was, this cruel spirit is still in error."
[Dr. George Williamson, Senior Pastor, First Baptist Church of Granville]
Go back to your cave you friggin Neanderthal ! Robertson is an absolute fraud , can't believe people give on dime to this shyster or his organization .
and start talking about politics, why are you still tax exempt as a church?
These people live in fear that someone, somewhere is "getting away" with something. Robertson can't begin to articulate his fears, so he literally makes up shit.
... warns Christians to forgo celebrating Halloween because of its evilness. Daniels specifically calls out candy as a source of soul-molestation:
Pat that means you can't use your protein pancakes as a weapon. Praise the lord
Who care what they cover, Hate Crime legislation is silly and only serves to us liberals feel better.
at least not in the New Testament definition of the word. Of course, that doesn't compute to a C-Streeter, who is permitted by Their Dog to commit whatever earthly crime they must, because they are chosen by Dog. A large portion of Pat Robertson's personal empire is based in 3rd world countries in Africa and Latin America.
I vividly recall that Rev. Pat Robertson openly and publicly called for the assassination of Venezuela's rightful leader, President Hugo Chavez. Pres. Chavez had the temerity to nationalize certain foreign business interests that were unjustly exploiting the people and natural resources of Venezuela. Considering the financial resources available to Pres. Chavez, as well as the human assets that he might have available here in the USA, it should be a surprise (to Rev. Pat Robertson) that he himself isn't already dead, in retaliation.
Except that Pres. Hugo Chavez is not only a champion of the poor in Venezuela, he is also a devout Christian. He is also, I might point out, a champion of the poor in the Northeast USA, where he sells fuel oil at dramatically reduced prices to help Our poor to survive our cold winters. I have yet to see any comparable good works for Our poor in the USA by the likes of Rev. Pat Robertson.
God will say to robertson on his way to hell? I would tell him to remember that republicanism/conservatism is a mental illness!
..pat robertson is an old fool.
is not a man of God. He can go f*ck himself.
How can any so-called religious organization be against a hate crimes bill? Shows you how far off the rails Pat Robertson and the organizations he represents have gone. These are not religious organizations, but political organization, similar to the way FOX is not a news organization, but a political organization.
I cannot believe these so-called religious organization get a tax break on all the money they collect from all the businesses they run. One of the biggest scams of all time. Tax payers should revolt and make these "religious" businesses pay taxes like every other business. It could help pay for our healthcare.
I agree. It would be nice to see the Obama administration look into this. Only problem is the the Supremes (where it would, of course, end up) are not likely, in the current configuration, to rule positively here. Maybe after he gets another "libbural" Justice in there.
All their businesses don't get a tax break.
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase...
The ruling you reference is only about sales tax. What is more important is income tax. That is where the tax breaks are. Sales tax is irrelevant, as they are only passing on the taxes they collect to the government. It is all about "them" paying taxes. ie. cutting into these so-called religious groups incomes that they collect from selling all their stuff, the rent they collect on their real estate, the lobbying fees they collect, their so-called donations, etc.
A good place to start would be for a very good investigative journalist (Maddow are you listening) should do a deep and thorough financial analysis of where groups like Pat Robertson's get all their money. Follow the money. See where it comes from and where it goes. I bet there are a lot of things Pat Robertson does not want us to know.
Most ministers do pay income tax.
Problem is they don't necessarily on their homes. Often that's like a parsonage, often on prime real estate, and at it's worst huge McMansions of the Televangelist, who'll claim it's church property, although only he and his wife live there.
And some have more than one.
Homes not wives
Unless you count consecutively.
What's mystifying is why they're not prosecuted by the IRS when they take stances more political than religious.
It takes political will.
Very hard to do because of their political strength, which is actually seriously waining....
Republicans would never ever get the IRS or anyone else to investigate these political "religious" organizations. And the IRS would likely never do it on their own, given the hornets nest it would stir up, without some guidance from higher up.
Hard to know if Democrats would, given that Obama has reached out to them to try and get their support, which he never will get.
The Democrats should go after these political "religious" organizations, just like they should go after FOX and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Of course the same will then have to be said or done for the Black churches, although their poltical influence and meddling is far less.
Or at the very least, journalists should go after them to exposure their true nature, to try and undercut their support.
News alert; God tries to kill an innocent man and fails. “A storms blew the signature steeple off a church in downtown Shreveport. The falling tower hit a car and the 57-year-old driver, Michael Williams, had to be pulled out by rescuers He suffered broken bones.”
Michael Williams said that it was an unprovoked attack on him from God.
I just saw this article. I have not gone through all of the comments so I may be repeating someone.
My bigger issue is with this whole reporting, including the original story by Mr. Neiwert.
"Everyone interested in advancing civil rights in America and defending the nation's minorities from the deprivation of their rights by terroristic thugs -- particularly their historic victims, from African Americans and Asian Americans to Latinos, to Jews and other religious minorities, to gays and lesbians and transgender folk -- have real cause to celebrate."
I am bothered both by the exclusion of American Indians in his comments AND his exclusion while using the words 'historic victims'. No one group in this country has been more victimized than the American Indians. We vilified them which made it much easier to hate them and place them beneath us. Killing them and stealing what was theirs came so easy after that.
Now we do not even have to think about them. I guess a convenient memory is the real reason to celebrate.
Native Ameicans aren't usually referenced because we're such a small part of the population, somewhere around 1.5 percent or less.
The Matthew Shepard Act doesn't include religion because the 1969 Federal Hate Crime Law already includes religion along with race, color and national origin. Dumbass.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-08-2...
Charge Pat Robertson with incitement to murder, or hate crimes with regard to political affiliation. There's your test case, gogogo charge Pat Robertson with hate crimes!
Shocking revelations from Robertson. Recording is recent from a Duluth radio station.
http://02e56fa.netsolhost.com/blog1/index.php...
If there really is an afterlife, and instead of people getting what they expect or hope for, they get what they REALLY DESERVE?
Falwell may know, and won't Marion Gordon Robertson (his real name) be surprised.
Who takes this geek seriously? Oh, I know, there has to be the photo op for visiting pols, but really, now! Once his megavangelist empire was exposed as the Ponzi scheme it is, tax-exempt lifetime multimillionaire that the guy is, his pronouncements have to be more and more bizarre and shrill in promulgation; they reek of histrionics, delusion, and desperation. Don't tell his handlers, but Robber'sson is irrelevant.
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