Obama Signs Hate Crime Legislation

[Anastasia Beaverhausen]

Obama signs hate crimes bill into law - CNN.com

It's about goddamn time! is all I got right now.

[Deadlokd]

To paraphrase South Park, 'aren't all crimes hate crimes?'

[godfry n. glad]

Originally Posted by Deadlokd

To paraphrase South Park, 'aren't all crimes hate crimes?'

No D...When they take your money at gunpoint, or rifle your house while you're gone, they don't hate you, they just love your money. Separated from you. And in their possession. That's not a 'hate crime'.

[erimir]

Oy.

Not all crimes make an implicit threat to the others of a specific group in a community.

That said, hate crime legislation I don't think is strictly necessary to protect against hate crimes, if the laws were applied just as harshly as they ought to be to anyone who attacks a minority. But I'm not sure that they are.

The only time when it would seem like a difference in kind is something like vandalism and destruction of property, where it much more strongly implies a threat of violence against members of a group than if it were just regular vandalism.

[Deadlokd]

It was tongue in cheek.

Originally Posted by erimir

That said, hate crime legislation I don't think is strictly necessary to protect against hate crimes, if the laws were applied just as harshly as they ought to be to anyone who attacks a minority.

This is a good point.

[Plant Woman]

Originally Posted by Cynical-Chick

Obama signs hate crimes bill into law - CNN.com

It's about goddamn time! is all I got right now.

I know what you mean, about it's about time. I've been following this for years, ever since Shepherd was killed, to the introduction to the Phelps--the hate mongering, dysfunctional family of the decade(s), to the years of people trying to get this into legistlation... It's about time. One more thing to cross off my list of things I need to be involved in, and that feels pretty damn good!

Ooops now I need to go vote for Prop 71 another fight for equal rights. A women's work is never done...

[godfry n. glad]

Originally Posted by Deadlokd

It was tongue in cheek.

This is a good point.

Agreed. If justice were blind, and equitable, we would not need such prompts.

[California Tanker]

That said, hate crime legislation I don't think is strictly necessary to protect against hate crimes, if the laws were applied just as harshly as they ought to be to anyone who attacks a minority.

If it's a consolation, they're not applied just as harshly as they ought to be to anyone who attacks someone who's not a minority either. At least the old system was equitable: Everyone gets screwed.

NTM

[erimir]

What, white people got screwed just as bad as black people?

Yeah, you can believe that if you like.