Q-Seattle Events: Tacky Tourist Clubs

Bellevue's Sheriff Dave (aka Congressman Dave Reichert (R-8)) joined 24 other Republicans and 212 Democrats (including all of Washington's D Congressmen) to pass a federal hate crimes bill this week that would expand an existing statute to include acts of violence explicitly motivated by the victim's perceived gender, sexual orientation, or gender identity.

The bill, dubbed "Matthew Shepard Act", would increase possible penalties, provide federal assistance to local jurisdictions under special conditions, and expand the conditions under which federal authorities could prosecute a bias-motivated crime under any of the categories which also include race, religion, sex, national origin.

In a statement released upon passage of the bill, Seattle Congressman Jim McDermott (D-7) said,

Every day somewhere in this country, an innocent person is victimized or traumatized because of their race, religion or sexual preference; that is wrong and intolerable and I will not stand by while civil rights are beaten back or shouted down. This legislation would provide local law enforcement with resources they need and don?t have to vigorously pursue and prevent hate crimes.

Reichert and the other Republicans who voted for the bill have been targeted by right-wing lobby groups and bloggers because of the vote. They're urging supporters to flood Riechert and the other Republicans with letters and emails. (Those who live in Reichert's district and support his vote should contact him as well.)

Even before the final vote in the House, the White House issued a statement saying that Bush would be advised to veto the hate crimes measure if it reaches his desk. The statement was issued after a heavy lobbying push by opponents of the measure.

A major right-wing talking point used by those who opposed the measure is that the bill -- which explicitly covers only overt acts of violence -- somehow creates a class of "thought crimes." An example:

Make no mistake about it, the Democrat[ic] House is trying to make thought a crime. ...

This is an insidious bit of legislation meant to create special laws to legitimize homosexuality and make a crime anyone attempting to advocate for a Christian worldview. This bill makes activism against the homosexual agenda, among other things, subject to prosecution as a "hate crime" because the definition of "hate crime" is being expanded to include sexual orientation.

Gay blogger Chris Crain -- who was himself once a victim of a gay-bashing assault -- patiently explained in several posts prior to the vote that the law would not criminalize thought.

Not only does the Shepard specifically limit itself to "violent offenses," the bill contains a special provision to prevent evidence of the person's views or affiliations being used as evidence of biased intent:

Evidence of expression or associations of the defendant may not be introduced as substantive evidence at trial, unless the evidence specifically relates to that offense.

Unlike McDermott, Reichert didn't release a statement explaining his vote, so we can only guess what might be behind it. The vote might simply reflect the changing politics of his district.

Reichert represents a once rock-solid Republican district that has started to tilt away from the party as the GOP has been pulled father to the right by so-called "social conservatives." He faced a tough reelection challenge in 2006 from Democrat Darcy Berner who is expected to run against him again in 2008.

But we suspect there's more. According to Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the gay lobbyist group that has made the bill a primary element of its agenda, the measure was backed by "the National Sheriffs Association, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, 26 state attorneys general and the National District Attorneys Association." Reichert's long career as a beat cop in the King County Sheriff's Department, detective, and sheriff might actually have helped him understand this law better than some of his GOP colleagues and have helped him to see beyond the misleading talking points of the right-wing opponents of the law.

In a slide show on its legislative lobbying agenda for the 109th Congress, the sheriff's association stated

The National Sheriffs? Association remains concerned about the continuing rise in crimes committed against individuals because of bigotry. While the crime itself is perpetrated against one individual or group, the effect is felt throughout the entire community and Nation. If hate crimes persist, members of the targeted group will continue to live in fear and no American should have to live in fear of violent attack because of their ethnicity, religion or belief.

The law that was passed by the House last week would, in specified instances, give local cops more federal help in the often expensive investigation of hate crimes. The cops and prosecutors who investigate the crimes understand that long-established category of "hate crime" does not criminalize thought. It does, however, give them more resources to lock up those who commit overt acts of violence. As an ex-cop, Reichert is in a better position than many in Congress to understand that evidence of motive is one of the factors considered by investigators in any kind of assualt case and becomes a factor in making a distinction between, say, manslaughter and capital murder. Courts have shown themselves capable of making fine distinctions when considering evidence of bias as a complicating factor in an assault case.

One of Reichert's constituents, Redmond's anti-gay activist preacher Ken Hutcherson, joined with several other black pastors to lobby against the bill in the weeks before its passage. Because of a series of inexplicable snafus along the way -- like a lost cell phone that prevented a scheduled appearance on Rush Limbaugh's show -- Hutcherson didn't get much of the publicity he prays for during his lobbying visit to the capitol, but the other pastors who tried to paint the bill as an anti-pastor measure did get some fawning coverage.

The handful of black pastors joined with white evengelical leader Lou Sheldon and others to brand the measure as an "anti-free speech and anti-religion bill." The ever-wacky Sheldon also dubbed it the "Pro-Homosexual/Drag Queen Bill."

If passed and signed into law, it will be used to establish a legal framework to investigate, persecute and prosecute pastors, businessmen and others whose actions are based upon and reflect the truths found in the Bible. So-called ?hate speech? could become the target of zealous pro-homosexual federal prosecutors ? which could include a pastor?s sermon against homosexual behaviors!

The blogger Republic of T, explained at length and with chilling examples why the preachers were wrong.

Nothing in there about preaching. But, essentially, those black ministers and their white evangelical counterparts want to leave bias-crimes based on gender, sexual orientation, and gender identity in a post-1964 state. ... There's nothing in either piece of legislation that would cause a minister to be dragged from the pulpit for anti-gay preaching, and anyone who says otherwise is either deluded or engaged in deliberate deceit.

The ministers and the rest who oppose the bill, and will likely cheer the president?s veto don?t have anything more to fear than the Ku Klux Klan, White Aryan Resistance, or any other hate group. They're still free to spout their hatred; as free as they ever were. There are consequences, as W.A.R and Tom Metzger found out in 1988, if their words include incitement to violence against a particular group, and those words lead to actions by those who received them. But, that's about it.

Residents of Reichert's district should thank him for seeing beyond the obfuscations offered for the past month by opponents of this bill.

Labels: ken hutcherson, politics, Washington