Good News

Pennsylvania supreme court rules
'hate law' passed illegally

July 2008

A Victory for Reason, Religion, and the First Amendment in Pennsylvania

By Andrew Peterson
For CoverUps.com

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has struck down as unconstitutional provisions of a hate crimes law passed by the state legislature that actually made it a crime to read certain passages from the bible in public.

Former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore and attorneys with the Foundation for Moral Law applauded the Pennsylvania Supreme Court for its ruling yesterday in Marcavage v. Rendell affirming that the state legislature violated the Pennsylvania Constitution when it added "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" to Pennsylvania's "ethnic intimidation" law (18 Pa. C.S. § 2710) in 2002.

A long-running battle between Christians and gay activists reached the boiling point when members of the Christian group Repent America were arrested and charged under the "ethnic intimidation" law with evangelizing at a government-sponsored (i.e. taxpayer-funded) homosexual festival called OutFest.

Judge Roy Moore remarked on this historic case:

"We are very happy that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has ruled in our favor to stop the Governor and a group of corrupt politicians from sneaking a 'hate crimes' bill through the Pennsylvania legislature. Preaching to homosexuals about the sin of sodomy should not be made a 'thought crime' in Pennsylvania or any other state."

Incredibly, Pennsylvania's lawmakers added the sexual orientation and gender identity provisions to the state's ethnic intimidation law during debate on a completely different bill concerning agricultural crop destruction.

the Foundation [for Moral Law] and attorney Martin argued to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court that the legislature's altering of an "agricultural crop destruction" bill into an amendment to the "ethnic intimidation" law – making crimes motivated by "sexual orientation," "gender identity" and other classes subject to greater punishment (Act No. 2002-143, HB 1493) – violated, among other provisions, Article III, Section 1 of the Pennsylvania Constitution: "No law shall be passed except by bill, and no bill shall be so altered or amended, on its passage through either House, as to change its original purpose." The Commonwealth Court agreed that the "ethnic intimidation" amendment violated Section 1 and now so has the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

Our Take

The longer we live the more we are convinced about the truth of the Founding Fathers' adage that the price of freedom is eternal vigilance. The Founding Fathers knew all about tyranny in the hearts of men. That's as true today as it was when the constitution was signed.

We're living in a time when our most basic freedoms are eroding, even as the licentiousness of our culture increases. Sadly, this saga in Pennsylvania is a perfect example of the upside-down moral priorities that guide us today. A gay pride event is subsidized with our tax dollars, and state law is used to punish a small Christian group for protesting it. Simply amazing.

Link to article.