Donald E. Wildmon, of the American Family Association, recently sent out an email headed “A bill in Congress makes it a crime for pastors and churches to speak against homosexuality."

He writes

If pastors and other Christians don’t aggressively oppose a bill now in Congress, in the near future they will be subject to huge fines and prison terms if they say anything negative about homosexuality. The proposed law would make it a crime to preach on Romans Chapter 1 or I Corinthians Chapter 6. Or even to discuss them in a Sunday School class. If churches and individuals want to keep the government from telling them what they can and cannot preach and teach about homosexuality, they better get involved now!

House bill H.R. 1592 and Senate bill S. 1105 would make negative statements concerning homosexuality, such as calling the practice of homosexuality a sin from the pulpit, a “hate crime” punishable by law. This dangerous legislation would take away your freedom of speech and your freedom of religion.

Maybe I’m missing some legal language that implies this, but here's how the actual bill on the government’s Web site defines the crime:

. . . willfully causes bodily injury to any person or, through the use of fire, a firearm, or an explosive or incendiary device, attempts to cause bodily injury to any person, because of the actual or perceived race, color, religion, or national origin of any person . . . (6.A).

In a prosecution for an offense under this section, evidence of expression or associations of the defendant may not be introduced as substantive evidence at trial, unless the evidence specifically relates to that offense. (6.D)

I’m no lawyer (and please correct me if I'm wrong), but I don’t see language that supports Wildmon’s claims? It seems that the “crime” is one that “willfully causes bodily injury to any person or, through the use of fire, a firearm, or an explosive or incendiary device.” And that mere “expression” and “associations” with hate groups are specifically protected from prosecution unless one uses language to incite “bodily injury. . . . ”

Like I said, I’m no lawyer, but I don’t see the threat.

And if there is no threat, then this is—at best—uninformed and—at worst—irresponsible as all those “Madalyn Murray O'Hare petitioning the FCC to remove all religious broadcasting from airwaves” urban legends that clog our "in" boxes.