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Foxx votes against ‘thought crimes’ legislation
that infringes on Americans’ Constitutional Rights

Congresswoman Virginia Foxx (NC-05) today voted to support the constitutional rights of every American by voting against the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2007 (H.R. 1592). The Hate Crimes Act would give special legal status to members of certain groups, specifically adding “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” groups as federally protected parties. Two identical crimes committed against members of different groups could therefore be punished differently.

“With legislation like this we might as well toss the Constitution out the window,” Rep Foxx said. “There is so much wrong with this bill—but its most egregious offenses are its utter disregard for the constitutional principle of equal justice under the law and for the First Amendment rights of American citizens.”

This bill could infringe on the Free Speech rights of religious leaders who disapprove of homosexual or transgender behavior. H.R. 1592 raises the possibility that religious leaders or members of religious groups could face criminal prosecution based on their speech on these newly protected issues.

The Hate Crimes Bill creates a new variety of Federal “Thought Crime.” Someone’s thoughts can be considered an element of a crime, even if they did not commit the actual crime. For instance, this law could implicate a pastor who voiced concerns about homosexual behavior from the pulpit. Under this legislation, the government is given the legal basis to tie his words to someone else’s crimes.

“Does this bill stray close to a form of ‘big brother’ government? It’s worse than that. The Hate Crimes Act goes further and completely crosses the line into dangerous government intrusion,” Foxx said. “The government has no business telling Americans what to think and it has no business creating categories of people to receive special treatment by the legal system.”

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