'Hate Crimes' Bill Opposed by 'Religious Zealots,' Activists Say

(CNSNews.com)-As the Senate prepares to vote on legislation that would expand the categories of "hate crimes," a group of civil rights leaders on Tuesday called opponents of the measure "right-wing fundamentalists" with "often-bigoted agendas."A coalition of conservative Christians said at a press conference held the same day that the bill is "unjust" and "an attempt to take away the rights of Christians to speak out and express their freedom of speech.""Our effort to expand the coverage of the federal hate crimes statute is based on issues of simple fairness, simple justice," Wade Henderson, president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR), said during a telephone news conference."We think that hate crime violence directed at individuals because of their race, gender, sexual orientation, disability status, religion or national origin fundamentally violates our understanding of what it means to be protected by the U.S. Constitution," he stated. "We think that responding to that kind of violence by enacting a statute that seeks to provide states and localities with the resources they need to enforce the law-and when they don't act, to allow the federal government to step in a limited number of appropriate cases-is really, fundamentally, the right thing to do,"Henderson added.Participants in the conference call voiced support for the Matthew Shepard Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which was introduced on March 20 by Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.).However, given the full Senate calendar, Henderson urged that the measure be attached to the Department of Defense authorization bill rather than trying to get the Kennedy bill approved separately."I'm confident that if this bill is allowed to move forward as an amendment [to the Defense bill], we will have the 60 votes we need"to invoke cloture and bring the measure to a vote on the Senate floor, he said."The real issue is whether there will be efforts [by opponents]to find other,creative ways of slowing down or delaying consideration of the bill."Henderson voiced optimism that the move would ultimately succeed."We think that the issue of injustice and the problems associated with the kind of violence that we're trying to deal with in this bill will compel the American people ultimately to embrace what we're trying to do," he said.Carlton Pearson, senior minister of the New Dimensions Worship Center in Tulsa, Okla., said he was taking part in the news conference because, "as a sacred activist, it's both worrisome and bothersome to me that some African-American preachers" oppose the bill and by doing so present their community as "a monolithic, homophobic church.""I've met many of these preachers, and I know how right-wing fundamentalists are often motivating them" to accept "often-bigoted agendas," he said. "Their motivation is often either fear or money, or both, but it's not necessarily the love of God or the love of peace or people."I want to make it clear that there are many African-American preachers, as well as others, who love God and love people and who support this legislation and think it's one of the most sensitive, intelligent, delicate and important legislation that Congress can vote for," Pearson stated...
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PS:We are praying that this bill won't pass,but if it will we will see who will keep preaching the unadultered Word of God from the pulpits in America.
The kind of "All INCLUSIVE-Kum-ba-yah-kind of God" that MR.Carlton Pearson is talking here is just in His Mind.God is a God of Love and he hates sin.NOT the sinner.God is Holy God.And YES He loves mankind that's why He sent His only begotten Son for us mankind to be saved thru Him,since He didn't come to condemn the world but that the world THRU HIM(Jesus)should be saved.
Mr Pearson has departed from true christianity many,many years ago,even though he kept operating at the previous New Dimensions Church location,and introducing "his new doctrines and thoughts about the Word of God",very subtly.In about 10 years since the first symptoms of his departure from the thruth,were manifested,he was approached in much love and concern by many well known pastors and ministers from Tulsa,Oklahoma and other cities.He never heeded to any of them.He had made up his mind.When he finally went public with his famous"everybody is already saved but they don't know it yet gospel"it caused shock in most churches around Tulsa but it didn't surprise those that had for many years tried to talk to him.The result:his church's attendance dropped dramatically to a point that after almost 3 years since he came out saying what he said in the media,he had to move to a different church location and now is under a different super liberal (kind-of
denomination,covering,teaching a whole bunch of heresy.
To my understanding he is not an authority in christian matters anymore.
He was even shown in a commercial some days ago,supporting Planned Parenthood,with other "christian local leaders"so you go figure how far he is from the truth now.It doesn't surprise me then that he supports an ANTI CHRISTIAN BILL.
As in the days of Noah...