Herseth Sandlin votes for equal rights, equal protection before the law - Sibby has a fit

Steve Sibson had a conniption fit this morning over news that Stephanie Herseth Sandlin voted in favor of the new hate crimes legislation, known as the Matthew Shepard Act. Steve explains the legislation:

This week, the House of Representatives passed The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act (HR 1913), which adds gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, and disability to the list of protected categories under federal hate crimes law.

But goes on to whine

Hate crimes laws’ main purpose is to appease the homosexual rights lobby.

Explaining that

Some have called such bills "Pastor Gag Laws." According to a recent report in the Washington Post, "[F]aith organizations and individuals who view homosexuality as sinful and refuse to provide services to gay people are losing a growing number of legal battles that they say are costing them their religious freedom."

So here's the deal. While I understand Steve's concerns with knowing the specific intent of a crime (aren't all crimes hate crimes, or at the very least a crime of indifference) and the ability to classify and define it, this act goes to protect citizens already victimized and jeopardized. Steve claims that this is a violation of the Bill of Rights, but the Bill of Rights is the most un-democratic document in all of American history. Indeed, it is a list of things the majority simply CANNOT do. So, taking Steve's argument, this legislation is perfectly in tune with the Bill of Rights.

Steve's tinfoil-hat paranoaia about First Amendment rights being breached is hilarious, too. Only if you consider violence and crime an expression of the First Amendment does Steve's logic make any sense. Churches can decide what they will or will not do - it's the reason I can't get married in a mosque or a Catholic church as I'm neither Muslim nor Catholic. For that protection, churches don't have to pay taxes. But when they step into the civil arena and the political debate regarding homosexuality and try to legislate their morality - they give up that right and should be exposed to criticism like the rest of us. Churches should be able to decide if they want to allow gay marriage, and indeed, some have. But what they don't have is the right to decide who has what legal rights and legal protections before the law. And nobody is talking about infringing upon free speech, nobody but Sibby and other regressive neo-conservatives.

I applaud Congresswoman Herseth Sandlin and all those who voted in favor of this legislation. It's good to know that our country is taking a step toward tolerance, equal protection, and justice before the law. It's just such a shame that so many conservatives are so blinded by their ignorance that they would rather support the rights of violent criminals than those of innocent victims already jeopardized by ignorance and intolerance in our society.