Mainstream news outlets and magazines have taken to slandering Liberty Counsel, falsely accusing the organization of wanting to harm the gay community by removing protections for the LGBTQ community from an anti-lynching bill recently approved by the Senate. Unfortunately, the false news reports have not only generated a great deal of ill will towards a reputable Christian legal organization but have even resulted in death threats.
The truth of the matter is that Liberty Counsel is all in favor of protecting the LGBTQ community from threats of physical violence; the organization simply had valid objections to the way the bill was worded.
The Justice for Victims of Lynching Act, as it is presently worded, states that lynching a person due to his or her “actual or perceived religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability” is a federal crime. Given the fact that lynching encompasses a number of horrific acts such as being shot repeatedly, burning someone alive, dragging a person behind a car and hanging, it would seem that a bill designating such acts as federal crimes is a great idea.
However, as Liberty Counsel accurately points out, it should be a federal crime for anyone to lynch any other human being for any reason whatsoever. The addition of categories only complicates matters as, for instance, a person who lynching an African-American, gay or transgender individual can come up with reasons not covered under the bill so that his or her crime may not be categorized as a Federal crime.
What is more, the bill would seem to put some peoples’ lives over others as a person who lynches someone for reasons not covered under the bill would face lesser charges than a person who lynches someone for reasons covered under the bill. The nature of the crime would have no bearing on the charges, only the reason the person committed the act.
At the same time, Liberty Counsel is concerned about the addition of the LGBTQ community to the Victims of Lynching Act because there is a chance that the LGBTQ community will use it to claim additional rights not granted to the rest of the population. It is not an invalid concern as laws created in decades past to deal with past issues are now being used by certain segments of the population to suppress those who don’t agree with a politically correct agenda.
Title IX is a prime example of such a scenario. The law, which was originally passed in 1972, is meant to prevent discrimination against people on the basis of sex; however, it is now being used by the transgender community in an attempt to force employers, educational institutions and even the government to allow transgenders to have so-called “rights” that would, in fact, trample on the rights of the overwhelming majority of the population that is no part of the transgender community.
As Mat Staver from Liberty Counsel accurately states, lynching is wrong and no one can or should oppose a bill that bans it. His original statement, which was deliberately taken out of context by some journalists only interested in slandering a conservative Christian organization, made it clear that Liberty Counsel is all in favor of the Justice for Victims of Lynching Act.
However, being in favor of a bill does not mean that one does not have the right to state how he or she feels the bill could be improved and Liberty Counsel makes some valid points regarding the exclusion of certain types of lynching from the new bill.
All human beings are created in the image of God and so all deserve the care and respect of those around them. While people are targeted due to being part of a particular race or group of people and this is wrong, it is also wrong to commit violent crimes against a person for reasons that have nothing to do with race, gender identity or sexual orientation. Christians are called to respect the rights of everyone and Liberty Counsel is clearly doing just that by pointing out the simple yet seemingly politically incorrect fact that a bill condemning lynching should do so across the board.
