WASHINGTON WATCH for December, 1998

Published by Family Research Council

Uncivil "Tolerance"

by Gary L. Bauer

Homosexual activists and other members of the liberal establishment say that they want a tolerant society, but they have seriously damaged the concept of tolerance by their reaction to two recent murders. The first was the killing of Matthew Shepard, an openly gay student in Wyoming. The second was the shooting of Dr. Barnett Slepian, an abortionist in upstate New York. Shepard died after thugs beat him and left him tied to a fence in near freezing temperatures for eighteen hours. A sniper with a high-powered rifle shot Dr. Slepian through the window of his home. We at FRC have joined all people of goodwill in condemning these brutal killings. The law must give swift and certain punishmerit to the murderers involved.

Not content with condemning the murderers, homosexual activists and liberals in the media found other targets to blame. They ignored the pleas of grieving father Dennis Shepard not to "use [his son] Matt as part of an agenda." New York Times columnist Frank Rich accused FRC of "stirring up the fear that produces hate" which killed Matthew Shepard. While I gave a speech at a crisis pregnancy center fund-raiser in Michigan, more than 200 gay activists protested outside. "Your words kill people," proclaimed one poster. The murder of the abortionist prompted a similar reaction. Herblock, the political cartoonist whose work appears in the Washington Post, published a drawing of a shadowy sniper standing behind a well-dressed pro-life activist. The caption read: "Me, an accomplice?"

What had FRC done to merit these attacks? As part of a coalition, we cosponsored a series of ads, described in September's Washington Watch, featuring people who had voluntarily chosen to leave the homosexual lifestyle. The message was that, despite the presumption of "orientation," homosexuals can change. Consider what the ads said: "We believe every human being is precious to God and is entitled to respect," and "the truth that God loves them [people struggling with homosexuality] could just be the truth that sets them free." If these words express hatred or bigotry, there is no such thing as tolerance. The charge that these ads fostered an atmosphere of hate that could lead to murder is absurd. Furthermore, these ads never ran in Wyoming papers. It is unlikely that Matthew Shepard's murderers have heard of FRC and its work.

Many liberals and supporters of special rights for gays and lesbians have a twisted view of tolerance. While they demand the right to declare homosexuality moral, they slander those who believe that homosexual behavior is immoral. In their minds, to express the latter view is tantamount to cornrnitting a crime. Civil discourse is seriously undermined when people try to silence by intimidation those with whom they disagree on a moral issue. These attacks, in and of themselves, violate the principles of tolerance. Unfortunately, it is easier for our attackers to name-call than to advance serious arguments against our position.

In the period between the two murders, a group called the Earth Liberation Front claimed responsibility for arson at a resort in Vail, Colo. The act was committed "on behalf of the lynx' to protest the resort's expansion. Deemed "the most expensive act of eco-terrorism in the nation's history," by the New York Times, NBCs vice president for news, Bill Wheatley, said that he knew of no charges that environmental groups encouraged this crime. This reaction stands in stark contrast to the accusatory tone taken by NBC's Today Show host, Katie Couric towards FRC.

Gay activists are using Matthew Shepard's death to advance federal "hate crimes" legislation. This legislation would give additional punishment to those who commit certain crimes if it can be shown that the crime was even partly motivated by the fact that the victim was homosexual.

Virtually every crime is a "hate crime." Hate crime legislation, however, decrees that the lives, safety and possessions of some people are more valuable than those of others. This sets a very dangerous precedent for justice in our society. The murder of anyone is an action that must be punished. The government, however, has no business punishing thought. Expansion of "hate crimes" law endangers our constitutionally guaranteed First Amendment freedom to think and state beliefs about important issues. It is clear that uncivil "tolerance" brings intolerance.