In an effort to end Christian witness in America, homosexual advocates in the Senate connive to attach the hate crimes legislation (having already passed in the House as a standalone bill) to troop funding, expected to pass in mid-July.
-- From "Hate crimes measure to ride on defense bill" by Chris Johnson, Washington Blade 7/3/09
David Smith, HRC’s vice president of programs, said in a June 26 statement to the Blade that the Senate would probably pass the bill in this way.
“The [Department of Defense] authorization bill as well as other vehicles have been under consideration since House passage earlier this year,” he said. “Between now and the August recess, DOD appears to be the most likely candidate for hate crimes.”
A senior Senate Democratic aide confirmed that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid intended to pass hate crimes legislation as an amendment to the fiscal year 2010 defense authorization bill.
[In contrast,] A standalone bill submitted to the Senate floor would be vulnerable to dangerous amendments, such as a measure that would ban same-sex marriage in D.C., the he said. [Read about, and view last week's Senate hearings on the bill by clicking here.]
Smith said a vote on the defense bill is tentatively scheduled in the Senate by mid July, but added that “as with any Senate scheduled bill, that could change.”
Upon hearing of the Senate’s plan, gay Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) said he’s “disappointed” the Senate settled on this method of passage. But he added “we could still be all right” because the House passed its version of the defense bill with a bigger margin than he expected.
The Senate aide noted that Reid had pledged to pass hate crime legislation by August recess and said the defense bill is the only option as a vehicle before that time.
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