By David Brody
CWNews.com–-A controversial "hate crimes" bill in the U.S. is one step closer to becoming the law of the land.
The bill has passed the U.S. House of Representatives and will now head the Senate to be voted on. Some say the bill would create "thought crimes" and lay the groundwork to criminalize certain Christian beliefs.
"As a minister of the Gospel, I cannot support the naturalizing of homosexuality," Pastor Marvin Williams in Detroit, Mich., said.
But could speaking out against it put you in jail? 
That's a concern over the Hate Crimes Prevention Act. If passed, sexual orientation would become a protected class of people under existing hate crimes law. It would also allow the federal government to help local officers in prosecuting hate crimes.
"We would feel safer on the streets and we would in fact be safer if hate criminals knew that the full power of the federal government was behind prosecuting them if they perpetrate these crimes," Harry Knox with the Human Rights Campaign said.
In 2005, there were 7,160 hate crime incidents. Fifty-five percent were based on race, 17 percent on religion, and 14 percent on sexual orientation. 
Some point to the murder of gay college student Matthew Shepherd as the catalyst behind this bill. In that case, Wyoming police spent thousands of dollars and let go five officers. 
Bill supporters say that often, cost and time prevent local police from prosecuting hate crimes. Under this bill, the federal government would be allowed to take over
Conservative Christian groups and like-minded lawmakers on Capitol Hill believe homosexuals should not be singled out as a separate class of people.  
In their view, a hate crime should be prosecuted equally no matter who you are. And they're adamant in pointing out that just because they are against this hate crimes bill, doesn't mean they condone any sort of violence against homosexuals.
"In no way am I homophobic, but since I have been saved, I've become ‘hellophobic,’” Rev. Kim Daniels of Spoken Word Ministries said. “I believe that we do not preach hate but I love homosexuals too much not to preach the truth."
These groups also believe this bill puts the framework in place for pastors and others to risk arrest if they preach or speak out against homosexuality. They refer to it as "thought crimes."
"Pro-abortion advocates would say keep your hand off my reproductive organs,” Bishop Harry Jackson of the High Impact Leadership Coalition said. “Pro-gays shout stay out of our bedrooms. Christian ministers can rightfully say stay out of our pulpit."
Gay rights advocates believe that sort of talk is crying wolf.
"It specifically does not say anything about speech or anything like that so there's no reason to be afraid of this bill unless you're a perpetrator of a hate crime," Knox said.
Opponents aren't convinced. They're trotting out "Wanted: Jesus" posters to make their point. They're even running TV ads with a jailed grandmother from Philadelphia who was arrested for breaking Pennsylvania's hate crimes law.
Her crime: sharing her faith publicly at an anti-homosexual event. The charges were later dropped.
"If you care about freedom, stop the hate crimes bill before they throw you in jail for sharing the Gospel," she says in the commercial.Such incidents have already happened in other parts of the world. In Canada, a Catholic city councilor was fined $1,000 for saying a gay couple's lifestyle was not "normal."
CBN News covered the case of Swedish pastor Ake Green, who was sentenced to 30 days in jail because he read from Old Testament passages.
In Australia, two pastors were charged with hate crimes violations for criticizing Islam. One of those pastors is warning Americans.
"If that bill goes through, it's the same bill with a different name and you will have the same consequence right on your soil," Pastor Danny Nalliah of Catch the Fire Ministries said.
That leads some to question whether this bill will lead America down the same path that is now causing problems in Europe and other parts of the world. 
If the bill passes out of the Senate, it would go to the president to sign in to law. President Bush has threatened to veto it.
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