U.S. BILL OF RIGHTS
Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
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Early next week the U.S. congress will probably vote on "Hate Crimes" legislation. The Bills are H.R. 1592 in the House of Representatives and S. 1105 in the Senate.

These measures have been presented in a variety of ways intended to appeal to a number of different groups, but the core of each bill is the outlawing of government criticism. If you dig through all the references to definitions contained in other laws, you see that hurtful speech directed at any specific "culture" or person of a specific "national origin" will be punishable as a hate crime. But, aren't we all, as Americans, part of a culture, and don't we all have a specific national origin? So if a hate crimes law is passed and signed into law, it will mean that any negative comment about our own country is a hate crime. We will no longer be able to object to government, even on this forum.

Contact your representatives and urge them to stop these measures. The House of Representatives switchboard can be reached by calling 202-224-3121, and the Senate switchboard can be reached at 202-225-3121. Let your Senators know you are opposed to S. 1105, and let your Representative know you are opposed to H.R. 1592.