U.S. Senator Edward J. Markey (D-MA) has introduced legislation for the federal government to monitor and analyze speech on the Internet, television, and radio looking for anything it considers “hate speech.”

The Hate Crime Reporting Act of 2014 (S.2219) would capture Internet and other telecommunications that the government interprets as encouraging hate crimes based on gender, race, religion, ethnicity, or sexual orientation.

This is a bad bill, even to the liberal Boston Herald editorial staff. It mandates that the government monitor and analyze speech and press statements that are protected by the First Amendment. The wording is deliberately fuzzy, so that although it sounds like it only addresses constitutionally unprotected speech, it reaches much further.

Take ACTION:  Click HERE to send a message to Illinois’ U.S. Senators Dick Durbin and Mark Kirk asking them to reject S. 2219.  The federal government has no business monitoring constitutionally protected speech.

The danger of this bill
Although the bill innocuously purports to analyze electronic speech that might “advocate or encourage violent acts or hate crimes,” it gives the government far reaching power to monitor constitutionally protected speech…even yours.

We believe S.2219 is a cloaking device for silencing Christians and advancing the homosexual agenda that Sen. Markey wholeheartedly supports.

For example:

• Pastors who upload a message promoting God’s word on marriage on the church’s website could be monitored by the government under U.S. Senator Markey’s bill and have the message labeled as “hate speech.”
• AFA’s Christian radio network and Christian conservative websites will be tracked for promoting natural marriage as between only one man and one woman.
• Even individuals who post personal beliefs on their Facebook page would be subject to government spies and covert monitoring.