The Future of Hate Crimes Legislation

For a glimpse into the future of hate crimes legislation here in the U.S., take a look at what's happening in Sweden:

Swedish Pastor Faces Jail for Preaching against Homosexuality

A Swedish pastor who preached a sermon on the Biblical prohibitions against homosexual behavior is waiting to see if the Supreme Court of Sweden will send him to jail for six months for doing so.

Ake Green, the pastor of a small-town Pentecostal church, delivered his sermon in 2003 and has been in the prosecutor's crosshairs ever since. Charged with violating a Swedish hate speech law that protects homosexuals from "intimidation" and "agitation," he was sentenced to a month in jail last year by a district court. An appeals court overturned his conviction, but the prosecutor has appealed to the Supreme Court and has asked that the 68-year-old pastor's jail term be increased to six months.

The Supreme Court heard arguments this month and is expected to rule sometime next year. ...

... California last year enacted a hate speech law very similar to the one Sweden is using against Ake Green. The Pennsylvania law used against the "Philadelphia 11" has not yet been repealed.

What with international treaties, state laws, and proposed federal laws, for how much longer will America be without a case like Ake Green's?

It's really only a matter of time, folks.