I will follow this one. Seems strange.
Junk Yard blog - QUOTING THE BIBLE IS NOW "FIGHTING WORDS?"
One more slip down the slope into hate-speech hell in America:
Four Christian protesters who demonstrated at a Philadelphia homosexual event face a possible 47 years in prison if convicted of felony charges filed against them, while a prosecutor referred to Scripture verses they read as "fighting words."
The four are part of 11 demonstrators who went before the Philadelphia Municipal Court in a preliminary hearing this week. Judge William Austin Meehan Tuesday ordered four of the Christians to stand trial on three felony and five misdemeanor charges....
Eight charges were filed: criminal conspiracy, possession of instruments of crime, reckless endangerment of another person, ethnic intimidation, riot, failure to disperse, disorderly conduct and obstructing highways.
None of the Pink Angels was cited or arrested.
A video of the arrest, provided by the American Family Association's Center for Law & Policy can be seen here [Windows Media].
"First, symbols of Christianity are removed from the public square; now, Christians are facing 47 years in prison because they preached the gospel in the public square. Stalin would be proud," Brian Fahling, AFA Center for Law and Policy senior trial attorney, said in a statement.
A federal appeals court in Philadelphia denied emergency relief earlier this week despite video footage Fahling calls "undisputed evidence" that shows the Christians cooperating with police and being harassed by the Pink Angels.
Fahling's group says the Philadelphia city prosecutor in the case, Charles Ehrlich, attacked the defendants as "hateful" and referred to preaching the Bible as "fighting words," a characterization, the law group says, with which Judge Meehan agreed.
Charges were dropped against the remaining seven Christians, apparently because they were not seen quoting Scripture on the videotape.
The ethnic intimidation charge stems from Pennsylvania's "hate crimes" law – to which the newest "victim" category of "sexual orientation" was recently added.
And from a previous account of the protest:
Responding to the riot charge, the group's statement said: "Despite the fact that our behavior was above reproach and we were attacked by a mob of whistle-blowing, obscenity-screaming God haters, the Christians, and only the Christians, were charged."
...
"This is one of the most remarkable and unlawful actions by police that I have ever witnessed," said Michael Marcavage, director of Repent America. "Their blatant disregard of the law by allowing hecklers to impede our way, block our message and then arrest us, is inexcusable, especially by police officers who are specially trained to protect civil rights.
"Christians are now being labeled as 'haters' and any speech that homosexuals perceive to be intimidating, such as our Christian witness at OutFest, makes them a prime target for 'hate crimes legislation.'"
Continued Marcavage: "We are clearly 'not guilty' of these crimes, and with the help of our video footage, we shall be vindicated of these trumped-up charges."
Just remember that when cases like this reach the Supreme Court now, all bets are off. That's because liberal and moderate Justices alike proudly take current international norms and laws into consideration when interpreting the U.S. Constitution. More and more lower court judges will be following the SCOTUS lead each year after attending various seminars on the new globalist legal philosophy. This strange judicial logic came up when former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, was quoted in the infamous Texas sodomy case decision. She got involved because the primary initial goals include elimination of all opposition to, or criticism of, homosexuality throughout the world.
Posted by Chris Regan at 10:45 AM
junkyardblog.net |
