A stronger implemented hate crimes law couldn't come at a more perfect time.
Within a few weeks the United States has seen multiple hate crimes committed. Since this is a problem, Congress clarifying and strengthening the punishment within the court system would make it easier to punish those who commit the crimes.
Churches, recruiting centers and museums are the last places that people would normally expect a shooting to occur.
Yet George Tiller, William Long and Stephen Johns, respectively, died just days apart in one of these unsuspecting locations.
Attorney General Eric Holder noted each one of the shootings in his speech to the National Institute of Justice Crime and Research Conference on Tuesday and labeled them as "violence masquerading as political activism."
According to the Associated Press, Holder encouraged the hate crimes legislation to be updated so that offenders who commit violent crimes based on gender, disability or sexual orientation are affectively prosecuted along with other more stereotypical offenders.
Each shooter targeted a person or area that represented something they were against.
Although they do not fall under the categories of gender, disabled or sexual orientation-based crimes, they were still committed out of hate.
This makes all three acts hate crimes, and a stronger law would help prosecute the people whose actions took lives during such a horrific tragedy.
The Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Education Fund reported that the U.S. averages one hate crime every hour. That's nearly 9,000 hate crimes each year.
This could cause unnecessary fear in a country that already has to worry about violent actions taken by foreign countries.
Congress should take action on Holder's plea for a stronger hate crime law to help prosecute those who plan on committing more acts against their fellow Americans who they don't see as their equals.
If the U.S. implemented an effective hate crimes legislation against people who have made the decision to harm others, future hate-related incidents could be greatly limited.
If people were able to see how severely hate crimes could be prosecuted, there would be a greater deterrent for senseless murders in America.
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5 comments
Does it really matter if a crime is committed out of anger or hate? When a kid is getting beat up or a family's house is being burned, does it really matter what the attacker is feeling in his heart and thinking in his head? Does it matter if he likes his victim or not? When you divide up our society into race, religion, age, sex, sexual preference, political beliefs, rich/poor, nerds/jocks, whatever, you soon realize that most crimes could be considered potential hate crimes unless the victim is identical to the attacker in every way.
A rape is a hate crime to women, a theft is a hate crime to the wealthy. A drive-by is a hate crime to a rival gang. A school shooting is a hate crime to teachers or bullies. The concept of "hate" crimes is stupid. Why don't we create something called "love" crimes where you get a lighter sentence if you like the victim. Or what if you hate someone who commits hate crimes? If you hate the hater will you get punished twice as much or do the two hates cancel each other? What happens if you slightly dislike the victim but you don't hate them? Will we create separate laws for varying degrees of likability?
Maybe we should smoke a bunch of dope and seek the answer.
I challenge you to name me one instance of someone in the U.S. being charged with a hate crime for having thoughts. Blue thoughts, bad thoughts, vile thoughts, any thought. People are charged with hate crime because of their actions, not their thoughts. That is why all civilized Western nations have hate crime statutes. They are an indisputable aid in the arsenal of societies justice system. Criminologists and policy makers show statistically that hate crime laws reduce the harm against unpopular minorities when hate crime laws are enforced., which too rarely are.
I do believe you are correct that when tougher hate crime laws are enacted, some people will still act in a bigoted way in the commission of acting out their hate. Society has every rright to protect the most vulnerable populations from continuing harm just as it has every right to protect itself by demanding comity, respect and the pursuit of the common good or the commonweal. Hate crime deepens divisions among people and are especially dangerous in the spiraling reverberations to heighten rivalries and dehumanizing an unpopular minority.. Hate crimes are qualitatively very different crimes than those of opportunity.and cause damage beyond the targeted person, to a whole class of people to which the victim belongs, or perceived to be.
The law has always taken motivation into consideration of charges and punishment meted out. All killing is not murder, nor is all murder equal. A murder that is planned and carried out is considered of greater culpability than a murder caused by gross negligence. Killing a child, like that Minuteman gang in Arizona is accused is considered qualitatively different than killing an adult. The law makes enormous & minute distinctions on matters of crime as it should. Just as our law enforcement must make about adding a hate crime to a criminal charge.