About an hour ago the United States House of Representatives passed the Hate Crimes bill H.R. 1592.  The good news is that according to a news release from Concerned Women for America, the President has promised to veto this legislation after it is passed in the Senate.  Read the CWFA statement here.

The following is from a Mission Network News email sent today.

Hate legislation concerns Christians in the U.S. USA

(MNN) -- It's called H.R. 1592. It's a bill in the United States House of Representatives that could limit religious freedom -- especially pastors who openly state the Bible's views on homosexuality. Voice of the Martyrs' Todd Nettleton says criticism of the homosexual agenda and lifestyle could be off-limits. "Those things could be identified as hate crimes, and Christians could come under government punishment for speaking out against that. This is a very slippery slope when you start trying to identify what people's feelings are and then punishing them for their feelings, rather than actually what they do." Nettleton says reading parts of Scripture could be illegal. He says this should be a wake-up call for believers. "We as the body of Christ around the world need to prepare ourselves so that we will follow Christ whether our government supports us and protects us, or whether they work against us. Our first calling is to live for Him, and we need to do that no matter what the laws are." Full story: http://www.MNNonline.org/article/9874