Tipsheet

What's Truly Hateful . . .

I've never been a fan of hate crimes legislation.  But if the laws are on the books, they should be enforced on behalf of -- and against -- all groups equally.  That's the essence of equal protection of the laws.

Yet, as this National Review op/ed points out, there has been a dramatic targeting of Mormons in the wake of the passage of California's Proposition 8.  So far, there has been little of the denunciation in the press that would be heard loud and clear across the land if, for example, Mormons were treating gays the same way that gays are now treating them.

Feminists lost their "moral authority" to opine on the treatment and status of women as a group when, first, they decided to give Bill Clinton a pass on some of the most obvious inappropriate workplace behavior ever and then when they ganged up on only the second woman to have a real shot at national office.  Those in the gay rights movement and the press, who have treated the American public to pious denunciations of "hate" in all its forms are about to meet the same fate as the feminists, whose hypocrisy has been laid bare.

It's a sorry day for America when any kind of hatred is ignored or condoned.  It's an even sorrier day when some groups are deemed to be "entitled" to engage in behavior that would be denounced as (and would be) wrong if it were indulged in by another group. 

Contrary to the accusations lodged against the supporters of Prop. 8, it isn't inherently hateful to believe that marriage should be restricted to one man and one woman who aren't related to each other (as it has been since the dawn of time).  It is hateful to assault -- in word or deed --  those who are exercising their freedom of conscience to vote in the way they believe is best.