Recently the House passed an amendment to the Matthew Shepard Act, intended to further protect LGBTIQ (that is, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and/or queer) people from hate crimes. President Obama has already announced that he intends to sign the bill. Senate is preparing to vote.

That is all well and good, and as it should be, in a country whose press release would have you believe that it is and always has been a magical place where every individual enjoys both equality and freedom.

However, the AFA (“American Family Association”) has today sent out a press release stating that this act will, quote, “give legally protected status to pedophiles.” [I will not link to the original, though it can be easily found through a web search, or you can view a screenshot here.] Although I always try to give people the benefit of the doubt, I can only conclude that this statement is purposefully incendiary. The poor logic behind what is surely a hastily thrown-together argument hinges upon the fact that the government has not legally defined “sexual orientation.” They go on to name-drop quote inaccurately the American Psychiatric Association as defining pedophilia as a “sexual orientation,” then they conclude that pedophiles will go around enjoying some sort of vaguely hinted at “special protection” and “protected legal status” under this new law. While they do not come out and say it directly, they have chosen these words in order to suggest that this law will legalize pedophilia as a practice, and thereby infuriate and incite their members into calling their Senators and mindlessly forwarding their action alerts without further investigation into the truth of the situation.

Please see the List of Fallacies, particularly of type “Red Herring” and see how many you can find in the AFA’s argument.  The overall tone of the campaign is an “Appeal to Fear” specifically. To break down this “argument” piece by piece:

Red Herring #1 – The fact that the government has not legally defined “sexual orientation” is irrelevant. Why? Because it just doesn’t matter. It is a matter of personal preference and therefore not the government’s business. Anything which is criminal behavior is well-defined legally and is clearly not an “orientation.” I believe this could best be called a “Texas Sharpshooter Fallacy.”
Red Herring #2 - The APA defines pedophilia as a mental health disorder under the classification of a paraphilia, not a sexual orientation.
Red Herring #3 - The spin making this entire bill about “pedophiles” instead of law-abiding Americans who happen to be LGBTIQ is known in logic as an Association Fallacy (Guilt by Association). Thereby the real argument is hidden by one that is completely irrelevant.
Red Herring #4 – A quick look at the Wikipedia entry for this Act will reveal that this act does not give anyone “special” protection under the law, let alone pedophiles. It does reinforce the idea that people in America, regardless of their sexual persuasion, gender, disability, etc, should be protected from being beat up or killed in the streets. As ridiculous as it is to actually have to say this, again, it does not decriminalize pedophilia.

Now, it does not matter what you personally feel about LGBTIQ people. Even if you do not approve of  your neighbor’s lifestyle, you cannot beat him or her to death in the streets. This philosophy was not born in America. I remember another great leader who taught many people not to throw that first stone.

I urge you to call your Senators and ask them to support the Matthew Shepard Act, S.909. You can view more information and get the numbers for your Senators at the Human Rights Campaign website.

AFA leaders, I offer a challenge to you: If you oppose the right of every American to be legally protected from crime and brutality due to prejudice, then have the decency to say so openly. Furthermore, realize that this same protection has given you the freedom to practice your religion without fear of repercussion. If you cannot argue against this act without using dishonest methods such as red herrings and emotional buzzwords, then let it alone. And you might take a moment to ask yourself: WWJD.