As the U.S. House debated a hate crimes bill today, Rep. Virginia Foxx today called the case for which it's named "a hoax."The House was poised to vote on the so-called Matthew Shepard bill, named for a 21-year-old gay man murdered in Wyoming in 1998. Supporters say he was the victim of a hate crime perpetrated because he was gay.
"The hate crimes bill that's called the Matthew Shepard bill is named after a very unfortunate incident that happened where a young man was killed," Foxx, a Banner Elk Republican, said on the House floor. "But we know that that young man was killed in the commitment of a robbery. It wasn't because he was gay. This -- the bill was named for him, hate crimes bill was named for him, but it's really a hoax that that continues to be used as an excuse for passing these bills."
Foxx's comments -- and reaction to them --- spread across the Internet.
"She should be ashamed," Democratic Rep. John Lewis of Georgia told a reporter. "That is unreal, unbelievable. The law enforcement people and almost every reasonable person I know believes he was murdered because he was gay."
A spokesman later said Foxx used "a poor choice of words."
Shepard was killed after meeting two men in a Laramie, Wyoming bar. The two were later convicted. Some witnesses testified that Shepard was targeted because he was gay.
"The facts over the last decade ... more than speak for themselves," said Matt Comer, an organizer with Charlotte Rainbow Action Network for Equality. "Now she is trying to go back rewrite history, dishonor the life of Matthew Shepard. We cannot forget about the hate that is involved in crimes like this."
54 comments:
I really wish the people of Foxx's district would realize what a waste of space she is and get her out of office. This isn't the only moronic thing she has said since she has been in office. Between Foxx and McHenry, Western North Carolina isn't very well-represented in Congress. They are both jokes.
I don't care if you agree/disagree with homosexuality, everyone knows he was killed b/c he was gay. This woman must be looney. How did someone like this get elected? She is becoming a laughing stock in the press.
All violent premeditated violent crimes are because of hate. Why should someone's race, religion or sexual orientation matter.
Cracker hillbillies strike again. What a stupid dimwit she is. Just like her constituents. They deserve each other.
Stupid old ass hick....
She makes me embarrassed to be a North Carolinian.
How out of touch is this lady? Not a true representation of the people of North Carolina. Way past her time to get out of politics.
As the other astute poster committed, what crime whether it be assault, murder, theft, or burglary is not done out of hate? If you love your brother, then you would not do anything against them. This legislation opens the door for spiritual people how do not believe in homosexuality to be prosecuted for speaking out against what they believe or don't. Don't look at the hand that is being given to you by Congress, but look what is in the other hand.
68% of Americans said they supported this legislation in 2007, including a majority of Republicans. This isn't about taking away the free speech of pastors, this is about people's lives who've been ruined or snuffed out by worthless trash. I guess Foxx sides with the worthless trash.
As a North Carolininian, I am ashamed that those who are supposed to represent us end up portraying us as being ignorant, close-minded hillbillies. The only other people that have said that Matthew was killed during the commission of a robbery were the KILLERS, who I'm thinking aren't the most credible people to believe. This was definitely a HATE crime, and I was very happy to see that the House passed this bill. Now, on to the Senate. Take that, Virginia Foxx.
6:40...you have been misinformed. No it doesn't take away the free speech of any church folk. The legislation specifically protects such speech.
This sounds like another "thought crime". Murder is Murder. Crimes committed against another person should all be classified the same regardless of race, gender, sex, etc. Jeez...1984 hold on, were on our way.
Is she the new Jesse Helms?
Do your homework people. The Left is using another victim for their own political gain. They play this over and over manipulating a tragedy to further their political careers.
http://www.massnews.com/2002_editions/03_Mar/31102molest3.htm
http://www.aim.org/media-monitor/exploiting-matthew-shepard/
http://americansfortruth.com/news/matthew-shepard-vs-mary-stachowicz-why-did-ap-hype-one-murder-victim-and-ignore-the-other.html
http://americansfortruth.com/news/matthew-shepard-vs-mary-stachowicz-why-did-ap-hype-one-murder-victim-and-ignore-the-other.html
I hope she's the victim of a robbery because she's an ugly *unt from rural NC
Why would you name a bill for someone killed in a robbery? Why not find someone killed because of hate? If you can not find anyone, why have the bill?
Another reason to get the hell out of North Carolina and the South as quickly as possible. After 20 years, I'm sick of the stupidity. I hope that every hurricane, tornado, fire, flood, and increase in unemployment is another indication of God's anger at the hatred, intolerance, ignorance and ugliness of the South. I hope the whole place goes up in flames.
If you are as outraged as I am, please take the time to go to Virginia Foxx's website and write the same to her...
Carol, good point and I've tried. But, the problem is that you can't send her office a message unless you live in her district. Hopefully, assuming she has people on her staff who can actually read, they will be checking these messages as well.
This proposal takes nothing away from the rights of people to speak out against those us who are gay.
Foxx's idiocy only illustrates why clearer protections are needed.
How wonderful of those who favor "hate crime" legislation to call those who oppose it "ignorant, close-minded hillbillies".
And if there is such a thing as a "hate crime" then please explain what constitutes a "love crime".
Geez, we need to get these old people out of office. They're clinging to antiquated ways of thinking that prevents this country from moving forward. She probably longs for the days of segregation.
Mike, I had the same problem with the zip code. However, all I did was google what the zip code was in Mt. Airy,and typed it in, and this allowed me to email her.
Why should this surprise anybody? She's a Republican.
Jesse Helms died off. We can only hope she's not far behind. Back to the hills you old bat!
Has Foxx totally lost it? What a joke and an embarrassment to this state.
Making an already ilegal act more ilegal is not going to stop it. This bill is more feel good broken science (abbreviated BS) from the left. Shephard was murdered and I assume the perps are doing time. How would things be different if this law was in place before the murder?
Hate crimes must prove a thought, how can you prove beyond a reasonable doubt what someone was thinking. When you have an answer, the next step is to make that thought a crime.
An idiot of the first degree. The people of the fifth district should demand her resignation. She is an embarassment to the good people of North Carolina. God have mercy on her sorry soul. N
I've heard all kinds of things. I heard he hit on one of them and they killed him. I've heard they simply killed him because he was a homosexual. In either case he was killed because of homosexuality. That is already a crime. They young men who perpetrated the crime could have gotten capital punishment or life imprison. What more could they get for a so called hate crime. Does that mean you get more time for killing someone if you hate them because they are homosexual, black, or whatever? Dead is dead if you get the death penalty. Hate crime will not stop anyone from doing anything they really want to do. I think what everyone is arguing about is the possibilty that anyone speaking against homosexuality will be jailed for a hate crime. That would mean every Christian who believes his Bible, like me, would eventually be imprisoned where I would still say homosexuality is a sin. Call it what you want, hate crime, mean spirited, whatever. Jesus was killed for telling the truth, I am not greater than Him. That bill is not needed and should not be passed but with left wing socialist in power it probably will be. We will have to see how far they will take this. If they take away MY 1st amendment rights you can believe I will still speak out. I will talk, laugh, enjoy social events, work, play with everyone, including homosexuals but I will not condone their sexual lifestyle, regardless of what they believe. I KNOW the truth and it has made me FREE.
This woman is a great example of what is wrong in NC. PLEASE PLEASE VOTE HER OUT!!!! PLEASE!! I pray for her. I wonder how Matthe's family feels right now!!
She's a stupid, ignorant, white trash nobody. Like her soulmate Jesse Helms she stains North Carolina's very soul. And they wonder why they have no jobs, no wealth, no education, nothing. Just the veriest hillbilly trash. I guess they've got guns and geezus. Hooboy, y'all.
"Hate crime" legislation turns thoughts into crimes. If someone kills someone try them for murder, not what they were thinking when they did it.
Trying people for thought crimes is Orwellian.
You people have no clue. You people don't care about facts. If you murder someone, you pretty much hate them. Murder is a hate crime. Just because you have sex with the same sex doesn't mean you should get put on a pedestal. Ms Foxx states the truth.
Why is the "Campaign Tracker" still up, hasn't the election ended months ago?
WRITE HER!!!
CLEMMONS, N.C.
6000 Meadowbrook Mall, Suite 3
Clemmons, NC 27012
Phone: (336) 778-0211
Fax: (336) 778-2290
MAP >>
So your party loses tons of ground, has as much power in the Congress as the freaking Green Party (read: none) and the way you rectify that is to tick of moderates (and 67% of the country isn't of "the left" so moderates do support this bill)?
Nice. If you don't want your precious GOP to become irrelevant, you need to ship out trash like this and bring in logical conservatives, not wing-nuts.
Foxx was wrong. He was likely murdered because he was gay. But what most conservatives argue about is the need for devisive murder laws. Why have "hate crime" legislation? Why not simply "crime" legislation. Is a murder of a homosexual anymore hateful than a murder of a spouse, neighbor or drug dealer? Why does one deserve greater punishment? The murderers commited the crime because of their hate of a member of a certian group. How would "hate crime" legislation discourage what they did? Would they come to the conclusion that punishment for murder of a gay man is more extreme than murder of a straight guy and therefore they should not kill him? No. Should they have concluded that they need to stick to killing straight white males so that they may be punished less. No. Murdering anybody should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. There should be no preferential justice based on race, sex, religion or homo-ality status.
Speaking of "hate", how do some of you people sleep at night when your hearts are filled with such anger? I see more hate and intolernace in this discussion than anything I have ever heard spoken against a homosexual.
Geez! What a bunch of butthurt faggots posting on this article?!?! Get a life people. No, wait, you amuse me, you may continue...
The word hate means hate. The word crime means crime. Taking a life involves hate. Those of you who think that this legislation is needed and appropriate, correctly named as well, should not have any problem with legislation that calls the murder of a wife by her husband after she was caught in bed with another man a hate crime also. We could call it the "Bathsheba Hate Crimes Legislation" after a famous married woman slipped under someone else's covers one day.
Illustrating the absurd with absurdity. That is Congress for ya!
First of all, why is this even being debated in the US Congress? Do the states not have murder statutes, or am I missing something? And do these states not allow for aggravating and/or mitigating circumstances? Hate crimes are nothing more than criminalization of thought. I wonder how many of you would line up to pull the switch on these killers, yet protest the execution of cop-killer Abu whatever the hell is name is? And I can't help but notice that the congresswoman expressed her dismay that this crime was committed, but those of you who disagree with her wish death and misery upon her. Not to mention the hatred with which you speak of her constituents. "Hillbillys" "Rednecks" "White trash crackers". I suggest that these people move to a state where they don't have to rub shoulders with such unsavory types. Oh, that's right, you've already soiled those nests! I am firmly convinced that the modern "liberal"left are the most hateful, bitter and bigoted people out there, and that scares me more than anything, because they have no qualms about using the brute force of govt to enforce their "morality". You are no better or different than brownshirts or klansmen.
Amused when conservatives use the same ignorant arguments that the same ignorant representatives use to try and prove their point. Further amused when they suggest we move out of the state. The reality is, the state is all of ours and religious morality is not something only the conservatives have a stake in but all of us. Playing the victims as the Republicans are is just amusing.
Foxx is a worthless piece of trash. I'd like to smash her face with a brick.
Years from then, the smashing of her face will be remembered as a hoax.
Saying the torture and murder of Matthew Shepard was a hoax is like saying the the 9/11 hijackers ran the plane into the WTC because they accidentally took a wrong turn.
This hate crime bill is designed to help local authorities investigate particually heinous crimes with federal assistance. And for the loony wingnuts saying saying this will stifle free speech, 30 states already have hate crimes laws on the books and yet Fred Phelps (the "God hates F@gs" preacher) has not been banned from protesting in any of those states.
Some crimes meant to inspire fear and terror, such has racial & other hate crimes, and terrorism, need extra federal resources to investigate and prosecute.
How wonderful of those who favor "hate crime" legislation to call those who oppose it "ignorant, close-minded hillbillies".
And if there is such a thing as a "hate crime" then please explain what constitutes a "love crime".
4/29/2009 09:11:00 PM
You must be an ignorant close-minded hillbilly and "love crime" to defend a hate crime? Spoken like a child, a hillbilly child
What a beast! Anyone who does 30 seconds of research about Matthew Shepard's death would realize that it was a HATE CRIME. She makes me ashamed to be from NC. I wish someone had tied Virginia Foxx to a fence and left her to die instead. What a hateful person to dishonor Matthew Shepard's memory.
Who told you this was criminalizing thought? Fox News? I mean... really?
The prosecution of crimes often depends on/involves examining the motive of the defendant. There's no qualitative difference between examining your motive for killing your wife because of x reason than for examining the motive of Shepard's killers.
If you don't know the difference in the EFFECT of this murder, I cannot believe that you're not being intentionally obtuse. Killing someone based on a minority status terrorizes those of that status.
20/20 investigated this in 2004. According to them the murder was drug related and not based on hatred for homosexuality. I fully support hate crime legislation and I am happy to see Republicans being condemned and voted out of office. But lets be right for the right reasons. Enough real hate crimes occur that new ones don't need to be made up to prove the point.
The problem some of us have with BS legislation like this is it is selective to the left. When a black is killed by a white, it's called a hate crime, when a person kills a homosexual its called a hate crime even when there are no ties to beleive it is. But when blacks specifically target whites like Christopher Newsom and Channon Christian its just plain ole murder. Sorry, hate crimes legislation is pure BS. Murder is murder and when you start to selectivly name it something else it is wrong. BTW, I suggest readers here look up the Newsom, Christian murders and tell me it isn't a hate crime in there eyes.
I dont support hate crimes legislation, I support the law.
One other thing that people should be aware of is that this legislation will apply to pedophiles as well as they have a different orientation to protect as well. More crappy legislation to bow to the special interest groups on. A crime is a crime, deal with it as such.
Ms. Foxx has been an embarrassment to us in NC for years. Unfortunately, those who keep re-electing her outnumber those of us who want her out. The new Jesse Helms, indeed! Couldn't have said it better myself.
Wow. No one here seems to understand the workings of the legislative branch of government nor that of jurisprudence.
1) Hate crimes do not punish people for their thoughts, they punish people for their motives.
As an example, let us consider a charge of conspiracy. This is a crime whose final act has not yet been committed and yet, because of plan and intent to commit a crime, people may be arrested for it. This is not a case of persecution for thought nor is such the case for hate crimes.
2) Not every murder of every black person by a white person is a hate crime, nor is every such murder prosecuted as such. Hate crimes are prosecuted as hate crimes when it is clear that the crime was committed against the victim because of the victim's minority status. Often, hate crimes can be tried as hate crimes because of the speech of the perpetrators, expressing hate and that the hate or prejudice is a reason for committing the crime and in some sense justifies the crime.
3) Hate crimes do not impair free speech. Anyone may express his or her opinion and conduct peaceful protest. Those rights are protected under the constitution. In these things, we are all subject to the verdict of public opinion and nothing more. No one will be prosecuted for speaking out against homosexuality and calling it a sin. What might, but considering which country we live in probably never would be, be considered 'hate speech' (which is not the same as a hate crime) would be speech that specifically encourages violence against any group of people as a class based on a defining common characteristic. Saying, "Jews are money-grubbers", as offensive as it is, will not land you in jail. Saying "Jews are money-grubbers, responsible for the bad economy and must therefore be killed so that America can be great again. Do your patriotic duty and go out and slay them" is another thing entirely.
Now, please go read "On Liberty" (J.S. Mill) and any fourth grade Social Studies textbook that will explain what the three branches of American government are and how they work.
It is hard to take the opinion of anyone who purports to support the law but not legislation seriously. Bills go through the legislative branch and become laws. That is how all of the laws became laws. Every single one of them. That's how it works. Even a very basic familiarity with the contents of the U.S. Constitution would explain that to you. Go read it: an educated citizenry is what keeps a democracy from being mob-rule.
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