The American Family Association (AFA) today put every senator who voted for the so-called “hate crimes” bill on notice that pro-family Americans will remember their votes when they stand for re-election.

Tim Wildmon, president of the AFA, said, “This vote is simply too important to ignore. The law created by this bill is exceedingly dangerous and represents a huge step toward normalizing homosexual and transsexual behavior in this country.

“It creates a kind of caste system in law enforcement, where the perverse thing is that people who engage in non-normative sexual behavior will have more legal protection than heterosexuals. This kind of inequality before the law is simply un-American.

“Worse, it creates possible scenarios where pastors can be sent to jail if their sermons on sexuality can be connected in even the remotest way to an act of violence. It threatens free speech and freedom of religion and is totally unacceptable.”

Added Bryan Fischer, the AFA’s director of issues analysis, “Despite the protests of homosexual activists, this is a communist-style law against politically-incorrect thoughts, since there are enhanced criminal penalties that aren’t based on what somebody did but on what they were thinking at the time.

“Thomas Jefferson said the law should ‘reach actions only, and not opinions,’ and this law completely trashes that concept of justice. This is a law that is unworthy of any free and just society.

“We believe that every act of violence is a hate crime, and should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law regardless of the victim’s race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation.”

The AFA sent out an action alert today to its 2.6 million member network, letting members know how their senators voted and urging them to contact their senators to criticize or commend them for their vote, and to inform them that their vote will not be forgotten when they stand for re-election.