July 16, 2002

EDITORIAL OPINION PIECE

Stanley for U.S. Senate Campaign
Web Site: http://www.stanley2002.org
Contact: Rick Stanley, (303)329-0481
Email:

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The following statement of editorial opinion is offered for your use by Rick Stanley, Libertarian candidate for U.S. Senate.

Last week, I listened to a Judge Patterson sentence me to 6 months in jail, $629.00 fine(that's $500.00 fine and other garbage administrative costs added on per the government edict of an inch at a time tyranny), 75 hours of community service(speeches to the city about the need for gun control, I suppose), and one year probation. Denver, Colorado. He than told me I was not remorseful, and therefore he was concerned that I was going to introduce another weapon into the community. You see it MIGHT, escalate into a bad situation. It could, it might. This is the "politically correct" thinking of the Judicial Branch of government today, to justify doing to us, anything they wish. Doesn't matter that Stanley was just exercising his 2nd Amendment guaranteed rights, harmed no one, and there was no damaged party by his actions. Except, the City of Denver and their Ordinance prohibiting this action. So by this thinking, they can make an ordinance about anything at all, using the smoke screen of protecting the community. Let's see, "the new law in Denver is, you cannot have indoor furniture on an outdoor patio". You think this is ridiculous don't you? Never happen you say? Already did, this time in Boulder, Colorado, a few miles closer to the mountains, on Denver's Front Range, another bastion of socialist garbage, guaranteed to infringe upon your rights. I want to protect you from box cutters, outlaw them, or let us search passengers for these dangerous items on airplanes. Maybe we should have a license for concealed box cutters, just like the government unconstitutionally demanding this type of PERMIT for concealed weapons. As long as a weapon has not been used offensively, and until it is used in that purpose, you are lawfully allowed to carry it. Period. Shall not be infringed, is what it says in the US Constitution, not to mention the Colorado Constitution. Bath tubs outlawed? You could be killed. What about lamps? They could fall in the bath water, in the bath tub, and kill you. Chemicals underneath your sink in your kitchen outlawed? Well duh, of course, if they got in your drink, or in your food, you could die. Outlaw kitchen under the sink chemicals. We will protect you. Many people have died in accidents in cars. Outlaw cars! We already have permits and licenses for them, done unconstitutionally I might add, as a way to extort more money from your pocket, but this is ineffective, so we must outlaw cars to protect you. Uh oh, the big boys in Detroit and the big boys that supply gas and diesel, wouldn't like that, so we will make an exception for vehicles, to protect the big boys. Whew, almost screwed up there. Well, you folks get my drift, it is a good thing we have the government, to protect us from all of the dangers out there, including the ones they allow or manufacture. I suppose, even the ones they cover up.

NEW YORK CITY: The Rev. Joseph Jenkins was arrested today as he preached to his congregation of 500. As he said, `The Bible says it is a sin for a man to lie with a man!' four federal undercover agents rose from their seats in the crowded church and handcuffed the
pastor. He was later charged before a US Magistrate under the federal `Hate Crimes' law." "Far-fetched! Impossible! That will never happen!" Not at all, here are forces at work in this nation to deny every citizen the right to say, publicly or privately, what they know or believe to be true if it does not fit within politically correct guidelines. Ministers or rabbis who proclaim the clear teachings of the Bible regarding homosexuality will be jailed if these forces have their way. Anyone who expresses an unpopular ideology will be persecuted. Recently one of our readers sent me a short note. All it said was, "Tom, you are a Watchman on the Wall." Of course he was
referring to the fact that in ancient Israel many cities had walls around them to protect the inhabitants from enemies. Since most attacks could be expected to come at night, when the citizens were asleep and unprepared, watchmen were appointed to stand on the city walls and warn the populace of danger so that they could prepare to defend themselves.
If I am indeed a "Watchman on the Wall," I can think of few dangers more grave about which I can warn America than the so-called "Hate Crimes" legislation that is springing up everywhere. The idea behind these laws is that we can look into people's hearts and determine what they were thinking when they committed a crime. That is a dangerous notion. Years ago novels were written about government "Thought Police" controlling what citizens were and were not allowed to believe and think. "Hate Crimes" laws will make such an improbable concept very probable if America does not heed the warnings of the serious danger of this kind of legislation.
Any clear-thinking American can see that these laws are unconstitutional, immoral, and just plain stupid. Then why are politicians falling over each other to endorse "Hate Crimes" laws? A
clue can be found in the article, "The Hate Crime Express." This article states, "Texas Gov. Rick Perry didn't really want a `hate-crimes' bill to land on his desk. But when it did, he signed it inside of three hours." Why? The name of the bill was "The James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Act." James Byrd was the black man who was dragged behind a pickup truck by three white men. Hate crime activists had cynically seized upon the suffering of Mr. Byrd's family to promote their agenda. What is wrong with "Hate Crimes" laws? They violate the constitutional concepts of equal justice and equal protection under the law. Let's look at a couple of examples, one hypothetical, and one from the news. To illustrate the inequality of justice that will inevitably result from "Hate Crimes" laws, let's imagine an altercation between two men at a soccer game. One is a middle-aged sports fan; the other a homosexual dressed in a feminine manner. They get into a fistfight over which team is best and police arrive to arrest them. Both are charged with the misdemeanor offense of disturbing the peace, and released, right? Wrong. The homosexual claims that the other man called him a "homo." The homosexual (now a "victim") is set free, and the other man is charged with a serious "Hate Crime" which could land him in prison for many years. Here's one from the news to illustrate the loss of equal protection that will result from "Hate Crimes" laws. Two students are found murdered at a school for the deaf. One is a homosexual. Homosexual activists immediately trumpet the "fact" that this student was murdered because he was a homosexual. When the truth emerges, we find that another student murdered both boys for their money. If the murderer had been convicted using "Hate Crimes" laws, his punishment would have been much more severe for the murder of the homosexual than for the straight student. Does this mean that heterosexuals' lives are worth less than those of homosexuals? Apparently so, if you listen to homosexual activists. These activists know that homosexuality is not popular, so they have seized on the strategy of using black people to advance their crusade for "Hate Crimes" laws. Fortunately for the nation, their wild claims of widespread "Hate Crimes" perpetrated by whites against blacks have been proven false, as this excerpt shows: "African-Americans who thought that hate crime laws would protect them against rampaging white racists are in for a shock: A new FBI study reveals that blacks are proportionally one-and-a-half times more likely to be arrested for hate crimes against whites than vice versa."
Let's face facts. EVERY murder is a hate crime; people don't murder people they like! Every physical ATTACK is a hate crime; you don't hit someone on the head with a brick to demonstrate love. We have thousands of laws against these crimes. We don't need to double the penalties for existing crimes because the Thought Police believe the perpetrator might have been thinking hateful thoughts during the crime. Then what is this all about? In very simple terms, homosexual activists are determined to make it a crime for Christians and Jews to say what the Bible so clearly says - that it is against the laws of God and nature for people of the same gender to have sex with one another. They will not be satisfied until the law says that homosexuals are more equal than heterosexuals.

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Rick Stanley is the Libertarian nominee for U.S. Senate from Colorado (www.stanley2002.org). Stanley is a Denver businessman with 27 years' experience serving the construction, plant maintenance and fleet maintenance industries. He is currently the owner and CEO of Stanley Fasteners and Shop Supply.