(AgapePress) - An attorney with a Christian legal firm in Mississippi says the actions of a homosexual lawyer in Louisiana are a good indication of where the nation is headed if homosexual activists have their way with "hate crimes" legislation.

Earlier this month, during a case challenging the constitutional validity of a proposed constitutional amendment to protect traditional marriage in the Bayou State, an attorney for petitioners screamed at opposing counsel for referring to him as a "homosexual." Newspaper accounts says the lawyer "lunged" at the other attorney and screamed that he was not a "homosexual," but instead a "gay man."

"No one calls me the 'h' word," attorney John Rawls is reported to have said in defense of his outburst.

Steve Crampton, chief counsel for the American Family Association's Center for Law & Policy (CLP) in Tupelo, says that attorney's actions show that homosexual activists leave no room for free speech.

Steve Crampton

"They arrogate to themselves the authority to determine who may and who may not speak, and what language they must use," Crampton states. "I think this highlights how a hate crimes law can be twisted to really prohibit Christians and [how] those who have conscientious objections to homosexuality may well be muzzled."

Crampton also points out that the term "gay" was in existence long before homosexual activists hijacked it for their own use. "This man is anything but happy in the traditional sense of the term 'gay,'" the attorney says. "He was not a gay man as that term has traditionally, historically been understood."

Crampton says it is "ludicrous" to suggest that a legitimate descriptive word can be turned into an epithet simply because one feels offended. Still, he admits he would not be surprised if ethics rules for attorneys are amended to appease lawyers like Rawls.

Brian Fahling, one of Crampton's fellow attorneys at the CLP, says Rawls was off the mark. "The term 'homosexual' is the proper term for an individual such as Mr. Rawls, who admits that he is sexually attracted to persons of the same sex," Fahling says, adding that Rawls "apparently thinks he has his 'own truth.'"

Voters in Louisiana are scheduled to vote on the proposed constitutional amendment on September 18, but recent court challenges to its constitutionality have propelled the issue along the "fast track" toward the state Supreme Court. The state attorney general says he expects the amendment to stay on the ballot.

The Louisiana legislature passed a bill earlier this year placing the amendment on the ballot. It has widespread support, including that of the Democratic governor.

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