movieguy Posted December 14, 2005 Report Share Posted December 14, 2005 Ads Denounce Gay Hate Crime Law by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff Posted: December 13, 2005 5:00 pm ET (Washington) Full page ads in several major newspapers Tuesday call for the Senate to reject hate crime legislation that includes gays and lesbians. The ads featured a group of "ex-gays" under the banner "Hate crime laws say we were more valuable as homosexuals that we are as former homosexuals." The ads were paid for by a coalition of anti-gay groups including the American Family Association, Exodus International and Focus on the Family Action and appeared in The Orlando Sentinel, The Indianapolis Star, The Nevada Appeal, Omaha World Herald and Roll Call. The ads claim that including gays in hate crime laws would give homosexuals more rights than "ex-gays" and asks "Whatever happened to the constitutional guarantee of equal justice under the law?" The cities in which the ad were placed are in states where Senators are considered vulnerable. The House passed legislation in September to expand federal hate crimes laws to include gays, lesbians and the transgendered. (story) A Senate bill is awaiting a final vote. The Human Rights Campaign calls the ads inflammatory and misleading. In letters to the newspapers which published the ads HRC president Joe Solmonese said "right-wing extremist groups are using lies to promote fear and stop the passage of a critical crime-fighting tool." "Newspaper policies typically ensure that inflammatory and inaccurate ads are thoroughly vetted before even the slightest consideration of publishing. We are requesting that you stop running these ads and set the record straight with your readers," the letters say. ©365Gay.com 2005 links Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.