HATE CRIME LAWS

HATE CRIME LAWS- GOOD OR BAD?

Political scientist Ronald Prestritto, a professor at St. Vincent College in
Pennsylvania has observed that hate crime legislation is a political fad
that "seeks to criminalize all feelings, thoughts or attitudes that run
contrary to the trends of the day." Typically, hate crime laws have
prohibitions against "intimidating" or "coercing" an individual. This could
be as simple a thing as quoting the Bible to a homosexual co-worker or
leaving a tract about sexual orientation on his desk.

James B. Jacobs and Kimberly Potter, writing in Hate Crimes: Criminal Law
and Identity Politics
notes that hate crime laws are actually aimed at criminalizing a person's
personal opinions and beliefs. The authors note that the term "hate crime"
is really not about hate at all, but about a persons beliefs about right and
wrong.

Daniel E. Troy, a scholar with the American Enterprise Institute testified
how a minority group achieves political power and status, declares itself to
be a victim and get laws passed to punish any who will say anything negative
about them. He says "Status as a disfavored group paves the way for special
protections and special handouts. Thus hate crimes legislation makes crimes
into political footballs, further polarizing America (and Canada-JNW) on the
basis of group and identity politics." Troy believes that special interest
groups want to be proclaimed as victims so they can have special laws,
special handouts and special treatment.

How did homosexuals get special laws passed like Bill C-250- to prohibit any
negative speech about them- by convincing politicians- especially the
Liberals and NDP that they are a minority being victimized by the majority.
These advocates of hate crime laws see crimes motivated towards homosexuals
as the most hateful of all. To illustrate this point, let us look at two
recent crimes:
the beating unconscious of the truck driver with a brick and dancing with
glee by several Los Angeles rioters is not considered by hate crime
advocates as very serious because it was motivated by rage over the Rodney
King trial verdict; but the murder of Matthew Shepherd was the most heinous
crime - according to hate crime advocates- because it was motivated by hate
of a homosexual. They believe that extra penalties should be applied for
crimes motivated by hate of a minority.

Michael Kelly of the Washington Post asked this pointed question: "would it
have been less terrible if Shepherd had not been gay? If Herderson and
McKinney beat him to death because they hated him personally--- should the
law treat them more lightly?" If we agree that extra penalties should be
applied because of what they thought while beating Shepherd, we must admit
that what people think and feel is a crime, therefore your negative thoughts
about a certain minority are illegal. Here is where the "thought police"
come in- determining without asking- evil thoughts for saying what you say.
Every violent crime is motivated by hate. Why is hate of a certain minority
worse than any other hate? ALL HATE IS WRONG. Kelly rightly observes, that
hate crime laws treat physical assault differently from other physical
assault because of thoughts or feelings while committing the crime. This
inequality violates the principle of equality before the law.

Hate crime laws are frequently expanded to include co-called hate speech.
This would include quoting what the Bible says about sodomy or even what a
school child writes in an essay about the negative aspects of the homosexual
lifestyle. Canadians have witnessed many innocent people taken before Human
Rights Commissions and accused of so-called "hate speech" by the "thought
police."

The bottom line. What is this world coming to? You can't , out of love for
their souls, quote what the Bible says about a certain action, because the
"thought police" will have already read your mind- without asking you- and
declare your thoughts are hateful. I'm glad everyone does not think this
way. Many still recognize a divine standard of right and wrong, and will
admit that only God can read our minds.

John Wallace