Saturday, April 25, 2009

Hate Crimes?


Hate crime

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hate crimes (also known as bias-motivated crimes) happen when an influential mind targets a victim because of their membership in a certainsocial group, usually defined by racial groupreligionsexual orientationdisabilityethnicitynationalityagegendergender identity, or political affiliation.[1]

A "hate crime" can take two forms: "hate crime" generally refers to criminal acts which are seen to have been motivated by hatred of one or more of the listed conditions. The second kind is hate speech, which is speech defined as crime. While hate crimes are rarely debated, the hate speech concept is controversial, as criminalizing speech can be seen as impugning freedom of speech. Incidents may involve physical assault, damage to property, bullying, harassment, verbal abuse or insults, or offensive graffiti or letters.[2]


I was in law enforcement for over 30 years.  I found it difficult to prove motive on occasion.  I don't believe a person's mind set is a provable offense.  You could be a life member of the KKK and be charged with killing a black man, but how can a court say your membership in an organization had anything to do with your intent in any specific situation.  We have laws on the books to cover every possible crime.  Is the strict enforcement of these laws not enough?  You can get the death penalty for killing another individual in many venues.  Why is there a need to muddy the waters with the introduction of penalties that only apply to several protected classes of people in our society?  How is this a fair application of Justice?  Answer: It's Not  - It's an abomination.  This is just a way for groups who have failed to meet the basic standards of human decency and accepted behavior to throttle the majority.  Now political parties who support and are supported by these aberrants are calling for hate speech penalties.  Who decides what is hate speech?  The same people who brought us hate crime legislation.  The political party who does not like to hear criticism from those of us who feel there are rules in life that should be adhered to.  Some behaviors are wrong.  Changing their names, taking them off the list of psychological problems, referring to them in euphemistic terms, and punishing those who choose to educate those for whom they are responsible that the behaviors are wrong, are all goals of the social engineers who are for the most part members of these protected classes.  We should not bow to these groups.  We must be equally vocal in expressing our beliefs and voting for representatives who will see to it that garbage legislation is not passed.  It is an unnecessary step that cannot be constitutionally supported or legally proved.

The same politicians who court and pander to these protected classes will bow before the people who really hate us here in America.  We should have representatives who know the difference and should work on punishing those who are obviously out to kill those of us who do not believe as they do.  The irony in all this is that the groups who are being courted outside our society kill members of some of these protected groups in their own society, and they also kill those who speak out against their actions.  Help us stop this ridiculous legislation, and get the laws relating to it already off the books.

Take Action: 'Hate-Crimes' Bill Headed for a Vote
by Jennifer Mesko, editor

SUMMARY: 'In order to crack down on hateful behavior, thoughts and
expression must also be targeted.'

The U.S. House Judiciary Committee is expected to vote Thursday on
legislation that would create a new class of crimes based on the
victim's "actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender
identity."

Under "hate-crimes" laws like H.R. 1913, pastors could be
prosecuted for preaching the biblical view of homosexuality. Similar
laws have been used to prosecute religious speech in the U.S. at the
state level and abroad.

"The homosexual activists' mantra is no longer tolerance --- it's
embrace and promote," said Ashley Horne, federal policy analyst at
Focus on the Family Action. "Anything less will be silenced.
Christians must speak up."

John Whitehead, founder and president of The Rutherford Institute, said
the legislation is riddled with problems.

"The problem, which few want to acknowledge for fear of being
labeled politically incorrect, or worse homophobic, is that in order to
crack down on hateful behavior ... thoughts and expression must also be
targeted --- which runs diametrically counter to the First Amendment's
protections for free speech and expression," he wrote in a
commentary today.

The legislation is also unnecessary.

Whitehead cites FBI stats showing that of the nearly 1.5 million
violent crimes in the U.S. in 2007, just 1,460 were reportedly based on
"sexual orientation."

"Hate-crime laws are redundant," he writes. "There are
already a host of stiff penalties on the books for those who commit
acts of unspeakable horror."

TAKE ACTION
Please e-mail and/or call your U.S. representative and request a vote
against the hate-crimes bill (H.R. 1913). You can find contact
information through our Action Center.

http://capwiz.com/fof/utr/1/FSBGKIQTDH/HEDGKIQUFM/3230769246