Comparing homosexuality to necrophilia, Oklahoma State Sen. Steve Russell (R-Oklahoma City) plans to introduce a bill that would exempt the state from having to abide by the recently passed Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act on the basis of the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
The 10th amendment reads, "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor
prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States
respectively, or to the people."
Says Russell, who is upset that the bill was attached to a Department of Defense bill: “The bill gives the federal government power that was not given to them
in the Constitution. I am aware of the supremacy of the
federal government over state governments, but the federal requirements
are vague enough for us to make actions. We just have to be very
careful on how we proceed.”
Russell says he considered finding a way of still taking the $5 million in federal funds that the Hate Crimes Act provides state agencies but decided against it because it would "be a compromise in the values of his bill."
The Oklahoma Daily reports: "Russell said because the government has decided to intervene on
issues of morality, he is worried that religious leaders who speak out
against any lifestyle could be imprisoned for their speech. 'The law is very vague to begin with,' Russell said. 'Sexual
orientation is a very vague word that could be extended to extremes
like necrophilia.' Russell said he is also concerned if someone is attacked and killed
for his or her sexual orientation, the suspect could pass the blame
onto a religious leader who preached out against the lifestyle of the
victim who was attacked."
Said Russell: “The federal government should not be creating a special class of
people, and that is just what they did when they passed and signed this
bill. All crimes against another person have some level
of hate in them, and people can be assured that our laws that protect
people against crimes such as murder are sufficient to protect
everyone.”
