Elizabeth Edwards Comes Out Strong for Gay Rights

This post, written by Pam Spaulding, originally appeared on Pam's House Blend

Video of Elizabeth Edwards' appearance at the HRC San Francisco gala dinner on July 14 is up, hat tip to Chris at HRC Backstory.

The right to live without fear of physical violence against yourselves, or against your families, is more than important. For you, it's essential -- and for us, as a nation, it's a moral imperative....

It's true that we need real and enforceable national hate crimes legislation, and then we need to give local authorities the power and the means to punish those who seek out to do harm to people simply because of their sexual orientation. We need to be just - and we need to deliver justice....

The right to live without the fear of being murdered for whom we love is not a special right.

The Senate will be voting, as early as today, on S.1105, the so-called "hate crimes" bill. Under S.1105, acts of crime committed against members of certain protected classes - including those who identify themselves by their "actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity" - would warrant more intense prosecution and greater penalties than the very same acts committed against heterosexuals.

It would establish homosexuals as a special class of people and give them special rights.

It is no stretch to argue that S. 1105, if enacted, will embody a national policy that will likely lead to the criminalization and civil sanction of the biblical view of homosexuality.