The other day we noted that the Religious Right was using the same tactics they used in generating opposition to the Employment Non-Discrimination Act that they used to generate opposition to hate crimes legislation earlier this year.
The first tactic is to ignore the basic fact that non-discrimination protections already exist for things like race and religion and instead claim that ENDA would somehow give gays "special rights" and force companies to hire gays and fire Christians. They made similar claims about how hate crimes legislation would give gays "special protections" while turning Christians into criminals for preaching the Bible. It wasn't true about hate crimes legislation, and it is equally untrue about ENDA.
The second hate crimes tactic the Religious Right is dusting off is the false claim that ENDA would protect everything from incest to bestiality to pedophilia, which is exactly what the Traditional Values Coalition is doing:
What you may not know is that ENDA normalizes and provides special federal protection for 30+ bizarre sexual orientations listed by the American Psychiatric Association – the so-called “Dirty 30.” These 30+ fetishes include behaviors that are felonies or misdemeanors in most states.
ENDA’s “Dirty 30” includes such bizarre criminal acts as incest, pedophilia, prostitution, beastiality, and cross-dressing. If we don’t act today, Obama and Pelosi will normalize these disorders by federal law on April 21!
...
If Obama, Pelosi, Hastings and the Congressional Democrats pass ENDA, co-workers will be forced to work alongside individuals with these bizarre sex fetishes. Christian businesses will be directly impacted by ENDA. They would be forced to hire or retain cross-dressers and individuals who engage in these sinful behaviors. Students will be indoctrinated that “alternative lifestyles” are no different than traditional lifestyles. Young children will be forced to learn about these bizarre sexual fetishes – and you will have no say in the matter.
As we pointed out when they made this claim while opposing hate crimes legislation, it is totally false, but that obviously isn't going to stop the Right from repeating it ad nauseum as it tires to generate opposition to ENDA.
Frankly, you have to wonder about the Right's strategy this time around. Do they really plan on just repeating the very same lies about ENDA that they spread about hate crimes legislation? Do they not realize that that didn't work last time, as hate crimes passed and is now law? Do they honestly think that the same scare tactics that failed to work last time are suddenly going to be successful now?
