CHESAPEAKE, Va., Oct. 28 (UPI) -- A Virginia clergyman says federal legislation defining attacks on gays and lesbians as "hate crimes" will stifle religious freedom.
Bishop E. W. Jackson Sr., who leads Exodus Faith Ministries in Chesapeake, Va., says that while he's against anti-gay violence, he also opposes homosexuality and wants to be free to preach against it, The (Norfolk, Va.) Virginian-Pilot reported Wednesday.
Jackson told the newspaper he fears religious leaders could be prosecuted for inciting anti-gay violence, even though the legislation -- expected to be signed Wednesday by President Barack Obama -- contains language meant to preclude prosecution of religious leaders and others on the basis of speech or beliefs.
"We could find ourselves in a situation where we're accused of inciting someone," Jackson said. "I am categorically opposed to the hate crimes bill."
But Rev. Steve Jolly of Freemason Street Baptist Church in Norfolk disagreed, telling the Virginian-Pilot: "If I stand up in the pulpit and say the consumption of alcohol is evil and we should pour it all in the river, that's a personal opinion. That's very different from saying, 'There's a bar down the road; let's break in and pour all the alcohol into the river.'"
