Hate crime legislation--for it, or against it?
Is it right ot provide stricter penalties to someone who committed murder out of "hate" for a person's sexual orientation, race, or religion?
Some people say it is right and necessary.
Others oppose it, saying its redundant as all crimes are of a hateful nature anyway.
What do YOU think?
Answers:
I think it is very necessary. A crime committed out of hate should have extremely harsh penalties and no leniency.
All crimes are awful, but hate just adds more fire to it. You cannot harm someone because you don't like how they are. Be it a different color or gay. If you do, you then need to pay a very high price. I am all for it.
Good questions this morning!
right and necessary
Too much has been focused on hate crime. It seems only appropriate in some instances. All crime should be punished in the same way
Hate crime leglislation is absurd and needs to be abolished.
Violence is violence, regardless of the perpetrator's racial views. I see hate crime legislation as 100% political, particularly since black-on-white or black-on-Asian violence is conveniently ignored when it is time to enforce the laws.
I'm for it.
i don't know enough about the evidence for or against it.
i have no moral objection to it because it's not clear that hate crime laws automatically reduce the amount of violence. it's also not clear that the amount of violence will always stay the same or, god forbid, increase violent crime.
i'm suspending my judgment until i get a clear view of the evidence one way or another. legislation should be passed solely on its ability to bring about a genunine good. hate crimes have not shown one way or another.
For it.
The fundies don't like it because they are afraid it will prevent them from teaching bigotry from the pulpit. Unfortunately, it will not.
Linz,
Here again, we have a case of legislators, attempting to regulate or influence something which is beyond their ability to control. In reality, hate is more of a crime against the hater, than it is the one hated. Hate, is born of ignorance and fear. Those who harbor hate in their minds, are suffering from a deadly delusion, which will in the end, be destructive to their own well being. When this internally manifested emotion is allowed to continue, it sometimes festers into outward acts of violence against others. I ask the question; how is a new law, going to enter the mind of someone caught up in hate, and change them? It is obvious, that these laws, are nothing more than an attempt to make the law makers seem like caring people, thus making their re-election more likely. They hope, that by passing these laws, that the members of groups who are traditionally victims of discrimination and hate, will become loyal voters at election time. Truly, aside from the haters, can you think of a more pathetic group of people, than those who use the law making process as a tool for increasing their popularity? It is precisely this kind of nonsense, that has led our country down the slippery slope to social anarchy. Sooner or later, it is going to be against the law to even look at certain people without smiling! These laws, while being created in the name of social unification, only divide us further. It makes one group good, the other bad. How can this foster the spirit of unity? We are already divided enough, and these laws only weaken our faith in a government which many people already openly despise, due to this kind of wasted effort. If we are going to abolish hate, we are going to have to choose as a society, to make respect for the lives of all individuals a priority in our educational systems, and in our homes. It will take generations of effort, and it will not change quickly, but if we do not make the effort, we will suffer much for it. I would like to see these posturing politicians pass a law, making Dignity and Respect for Individuals, a major part of school curriculum, along with reading writing, and arithmetic. I for one, am tired of our government trying to be the "Thought Police". If you were able to see into their private lives, you would never take their so-called "Laws" seriously again, due to the severe hypocracy of their deeds. Just my two cents. Peace be unto you.....
Will
miss
in an earlier post, I told some kid who wants to be a hostage negotiator, to buy a handgun and kill the hostage taker, suggesting that if we kill enough of them, the price of criminals will increase due to a shortage of them...
In terms of hate crimes, that sounds all well and good but you are getting the shaft. the ones that are making the laws are not working in your best interest, though it appears they are.
We have a huge amount of law, with penalty and it is not enforced and when inforced, the prisons are over crowded and they let folks out for all kinds of reasons.
Make prisons a place without tv, airconditioning, and infractions result in whipping with bullwhips and make the prisoners work like dogs in the heat of the sun or they don't eat. Make prison the one place where if your a gang member, the guards will beat you to death, shoot you, let you get raped and then beaten to death, make it a living hell.
and all these "hate" crimes you talk about would go away for the most part.
I understand your feelings. I have many bi, lesbian and homosexual folks I know or work with in some capacity. Most have been on the discrimation end...
but adding hate crimes legislation to the books only allows me to shoot you on sight for someother reason...trust me, the law is not working for you or anyone else.
would I give the death penalty to a killer, already been on a jury selection for that, had to do some heart searching, been to iraq, had face to face, and I mean close like able to see their eye color self defense fights...ya, I will give the death penalty...
I just want my legal system to quit overturning jury decisions, I want my prisons to be places of hell where punishment is the norm, I want the guards to be devils in flesh and those who survive to come out, will only go back to prison for singing too loud in church.
I want a society where a child who is raped can see her attacker die. Where abused children quicly realized and saved before they are so damaged for life that they suffer into the last days of their life.
In short, I want a society that enforces its laws, kills its career criminals, kills it violent criminal and domestic problems don't happen because both parties know it is not a good thing to be in the court system because our laws actually mean something.
a good friend, a cop, who was shot, tried to kill the man who shot him, he fired 6 times at point blank range and missed. I asked why and he told me that when you are shot, your hurt so bad, doing anything is almost impossible.
I don't want criminals in my town, state, nation or earth
is that clear enough? trust me, pass hate crime and soon, you, my bi-sexual friend, will be next on the agenda.
YES hate crimes should carry a heavier penalty. If these hateful folks are back on the streets they just bring their hate filled minds and attitudes with them. Good question by the way!
I don't see anything fundamentally wrong with it, since criminals have always been punished on the basis of their intent anyway. Hate crime legislation simply prescribes harsher punishments for those who hurt people for worse motives than others. However, there needs to be sufficient safeguards in place so that hate ITSELF does not become a thought crime, and to start enforcing these laws so that they are applied equally to everybody. For instance, white people are much more likely to be charged with hate crimes for attacking people of other races than the other way around. If a gang of black kids beat up a white boy because he was white and walked into the wrong neighborhood, it's just considered regular assault and battery. But if a gang of white kids beat up a black person, it's almost always a hate crime. Why the double standard?
We've always had 'aggravating' factors, aspects of crime that increase penalties. Armed robbery gets a longer jail sentence than unarmed. Killing a police officer gets more years (and forget about parole) than murdering anyone else.
Premeditation is one of those factors that increase severity of punishment. The exact time, place and manner of a hate crime might not have been thought out, but the desire has.
Don't think of it in terms of the victim. Think of it in terms of the offender. Why did s/he do it? Is it likely to happen again?
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