Judge OKs attacks on major Christian ministry as ‘hate group’
Says 1st Amendment protects labeling
WND.com
October 27, 2019
It seems, according to a federal judge’s decision protecting the Southern Poverty Law Center’s practice of labeling Christian organizations as “hate groups,” that just about anyone can be labeled a “hate group.”
Judge Myron H. Thompson found that the definitions of “hate group” vary so widely that the slam is protected by the First Amendment, even if it causes harm.
The ruling came in a case brought by D. James Kennedy Ministries against SPLC, which routinely labels anyone who disagrees with its pro-transgender, pro-homosexual, pro-abortion agenda as a hater or “hate group.”
In fact, the ministry, which is appealing the ruling, had been prevented from participating in an online donation program because of the label.
But “the term ‘hate group,'” Thompson wrote, “has no single, commonly understood meaning.”
He took “judicial notice” that “neither Black’s Law Dictionary (11th Ed. 2019), Merriam-Webster Unabridged (online ed.), nor the Oxford English Dictionary (online ed.), defines the term ‘hate group,'” and that reinforced his decision.
“The court concludes that there is no single, commonly understood meaning of the term ‘hate group.’ Rather, as shown by the conflicting definitions … the term does not have one precise definition, and instead may be ascribed multiple different meanings by ‘the average reader.'”
Which means, under his opinion, that the recipients of Yale Law School’s Award of Merit, which includes Thompson, could be labeled online as a “hate group.”
Or those who have received Stanford Law School’s National Public Service Award, which he received in 2015.
Or anyone who has served as “Jurist in Residence at Pace Law School,” which he did in 2012.
He said there “appears to be no uniform definition of ‘hate group” in Canada either.”
The ministry says on its website: “The infamous SPLC has recklessly classified disciples of the Gospel as purveyors of hate. They denounce pro-family groups that stand for traditional marriage—God’s rules for marriage—as ‘haters.’ Join D. James Kennedy Ministries as we fight for religious freedom, stamp out discrimination against Christians and conservatives, and continue our bold defense of the Truth!”
The Rest…HERE
