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The Hate Crimes bill has nothing to do with speech. People who have a problem with this bill are either entirely ignorant of its provisions or simply don't like the government telling them whom they can and cannot bomb, rape or kidnap.

The Hate Crimes Bill does not resrict religion or speech. It stipulates minimum penalties for people who are convicted of violent crimes, when the victim's race, religion or national origin is the primary motivation for the crime.

The core of H.R. 1592 states:

`(1) OFFENSES INVOLVING ACTUAL OR PERCEIVED RACE, COLOR, RELIGION, OR NATIONAL ORIGIN- Whoever, whether or not acting under color of law, willfully causes bodily injury to any person or, through the use of fire, a firearm, or an explosive or incendiary device, attempts to cause bodily injury to any person, because of the actual or perceived race, color, religion, or national origin of any person-

`(A) shall be imprisoned not more than 10 years, fined in accordance with this title, or both; and

`(B) shall be imprisoned for any term of years or for life, fined in accordance with this title, or both, if-

`(i) death results from the offense; or

`(ii) the offense includes kidnapping or an attempt to kidnap, aggravated sexual abuse or an attempt to commit aggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt to kill.

The bill stipulates no restrictions in speech whatsoever. There's nothing in there about telling ministers what they have to preach. Not even a proscription against harboring murderous hatred for, or calling for the death of, gays, Jews, Arabs, African-Americans, Catholics, etc. etc. This law only punishes violent crimes, not speech - unless you want to claim that burning a black church or bombing a synagogue should somehow be a protected form of speech.

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