Washington D.C. - Congressman Steve King today voted to uphold the rights of all Americans by voting “No” to a bill also known as the “Thought Crimes Act”.  The bill, officially known as the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 237-180.

King offered multiple amendments to change the bill.  All were prevented from receiving a vote by the Democrat majority.  One King amendment would have changed the title of the bill to The Local Law Enforcement Thought Crimes Act. The bill would require law enforcement to ascertain the thoughts and motivations of an accused criminal at the time the crime was committed.

“The devil is always in the details.  If this bill were to become law, Christians and adherents of many other faiths could be hauled into court simply for their traditional views on morality.  The bill federalizes every state and local crime, so long as the crime was possibly motivated by hate, but only if it is committed against special groups of people.  We have arrived at an unconstitutional and perilous future of policing the thoughts of citizens.  Even Thomas Jefferson warned of this Constitutional breach”, said, King.

King cited President Thomas Jefferson’s letter to the Danbury Baptist Association in 1802, often used by liberals to support banning religion from the public square.  The same liberals do not, however, recognize another part of the letter where Jefferson wrote, “…the legitimate powers of government reach actions only and not opinions,…” 

“Democrats not only want to raise the severity of criminal punishment, but they also want to decide what people should be allowed to think.  Anyone who has read George Orwell’s 1984, will recognize this exact approach to governing as what he called “crimethink”, or any thought not in line with the regime.  I will never support any bill that allows the prosecution of thought crimes.  This challenges everything good that America represents,” stated King.

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