by Rusty Pugh
(AgapePress) – The Texas Legislature is considering a campaign reform bill that could hamper the work of pro-life groups.
The Texas bill is similar to the McCain-Feingold bill. It would not allow grassroots organizations like Texas Right to Life to mention the name of a candidate within 60 days of an election. Texas Right to Life spokeswoman Courtney Facciponti says voters have a right to be informed, and to know what candidates stand for.
“That bill would prohibit grassroots organizations from talking to their members about incumbents that are running for election,” Facciponti says. “Even groups such as the ACLU are with us on this. It’s a free speech issue, and we all know that it’s our right as Americans to be able to talk to our members about issues like this.”
Under this part of the bill, candidates’ names could not be used in any forms of communication or any printed material, preventing pro-life groups or any organization from producing voter guides, scorecards, or any other non-partisan voter-education material.
The Texas House is expected to vote on the bill today.
(This update courtesy of Agape Press.)
“Love Crimes,” Not Hate Crimes, Pervading Homosexual Community
by Allie Martin
(AgapePress) – A pro-family activist in Michigan says a new book shows that homosexuals who favor “hate crimes” legislation should instead be trying to push for legislation protecting them from domestic assaults from their own partners.
Throughout the nation, homosexual lobbyists are trying to convince lawmakers to pass hate crimes legislation, which would increase the punishment for those who commit crimes against homosexuals because they do not agree with that lifestyle.
But Gary Glenn, Director of the American Family Association of Michigan, says new research shows that homosexuals need legislation protecting them from their live-in partners.
“The bottom line is, a man involved in homosexual behavior is 500 times more likely to be the victim of violence, violent assault at the hands of his own homosexual ‘lover’ (a ‘love crime’) than he is to be a victim of a so-called ‘hate crime’ committed against him by someone who doesn’t like the fact that he’s involved in that kind of lifestyle,” Glenn says.
Glenn’s data are based on research found in the book Men Who Beat the Men Who Love Them: Battered Gay Men and Domestic Violence. The book is written by David Island and Patrick Letellier, two homosexual researchers.
The book estimated that 650,000 homosexual men are victims of domestic violence each year, compared to figures from the FBI which showed that last year 1,300 hate crimes were reported against homosexuals.
