Re: You voted yes on the "pedofile Protection act!"

Dear Mr.X:



Thank you for contacting me regarding Hate Crime legislation. I appreciate hearing from you and would like to take this opportunity to address your concerns.



Hate crimes occur when a person willfully causes bodily injury to another person based on the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation or disability of the person being targeted. In 1993, the United States Supreme Court unanimously recognized the severity of this type of crime in comparison to other crimes, noting the likelihood of hate crimes to provoke retaliatory crime and cause community unrest.



I support efforts to pass federal hate crimes legislation to create enhanced penalties for those who commit hate crimes. On April 29, 2009, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1913, which allows the Attorney General to provide technical, forensic, prosecutorial or other assistance in the prosecutions of violent crimes motivated by prejudice. This bill includes language that emphasizes that the Act should not be misconstrued as affecting constitutional protections like the freedoms of speech or religion.



Senator Edward Kennedy (D-Massachusetts) introduced a companion bill, S. 909 on April 28, 2009. This piece of legislation was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee, of which I am a member, and that Committee has held hearings on the legislation on June 25, 2009. This legislation was then proposed as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for FY2010, S.1390. This amendment also includes language to prevent any impact on constitutional protections. The Senate debated the Hate Crime amendment, Senate Amendment 1511, for two days before voting to end debate on July 16, 2009. I voted in favor of ending this debate and cloture was invoked by a vote of 63-28. The amendment was then agreed to by unanimous consent and adopted.



Assertions that the legislation protects those with sexual disorders, including pedophilia, are incorrect. Current laws to punish those who sexually abuse children are not altered under this bill. Concerns have also been raised about the definition of the term sexual orientation. U.S. Code and Federal Sentencing guidelines use this unambiguous term to refer homosexuality, heterosexuality or bisexuality. I hope you find this information helpful.



Again, I appreciate hearing from you. Please feel free to contact me again on other issues of importance to you.





Sincerely,


Herb Kohl
United States Senator

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Perhaps I tried too hard to make it sound like D.C. legalize language to efficiently get my point understood clearly! This bill, (now LAW) does nothing but ASSAULT my Constitutional rights as a GOD fearing Christian! How can you exempt Christians from being victims while silencing them!
Somehow, I feel this history lesson response or form letter is an inadequate answer. If God tells me something is an abomination like a behavior or choice and that he hates it himself in his own Words, and I think he's right that we should hate that, you can now convict someone because you think they thought that? Now I wonder who are the thought police?