A hate crimes bill sent to President Obama for his signature raises a red flag for Christians.

On Oct 22, the U.S. Senate passed a hate crimes bill that Christian leaders have warned for years could greatly infringe on the rights of those who speak to loudly about their religious views. Matt Barber of Liberty Counsel agrees with most observers that President Obama will sign the measure — adding that the president desires to “throw a bone to homosexual activists because they have been breathing down his neck…and this is a way to hold them off.”

Barber views the legislation as something akin to a muzzle. “Unfortunately, it places Christians — people of faith, people who have traditional values relative to sexual immorality…in an untenable position,” says the attorney.

He notes that several years ago, a similar law in Pennsylvania resulted in the arrest of 11 Christians who were presenting the gospel at a Philadelphia homosexual rally. Barber goes on to say that the federal bill “will chill religious liberty and free speech — and that is its intended purpose, not to protect anybody from hate crimes.”