njlauren
Posts: 1577
Joined: 10/1/2011 Status: offline
|
quote:
ORIGINAL: OrionTheWolf You really must learn to use the quote boxes if you want your posts understood when you quote so much from before. If nothing else cut and paste out what you want to reply to and put the other persons words in a different color. It at least can be followed then. What I always come away from this topic is "If someone were a smart racist, or had a bias against someone and wanted to murder them, just make sure to keep your mouth shut and don't have any proof that links you to the hate crime." So how many crimes were hate crimes that were never convicted, and how many were not hate crimes that were just murders? Dead is dead and whatever witch hunt makes society feel better, it is still a witch hunt followed by a drum trial. I suppose the intentions of Hate Crime laws be for the better good just makes people feel better. Hate crime legislation, just like anti-racist legislation just makes the scumbags hide it better. Only better education and eliminating ignorance will actual do anything. While there is truth to what you are saying, it also makes it a lot harder for people to go out and commit such crimes of hate. Down in boll weevil land, before federal civil rights legislation was passed that allowed federal prosecution of klansman and such, they knew they could terrorize and kill blacks or civil rights protesters and not face prosecution because the good ole boys in law enforcement would never charge them,by having federal law involved federal law enforcement could step in. With hate crimes laws on a state of federal level, they can make sure law enforcement can't shrug off crimes againt unpopular people, as often happens with crimes against gays, judges will routinely knock down sentences against those who committed acts of violence against LGBT people, arguing gay panic defenses and the like, or basically implying it was the victims fault, it happens a lot. Hate crimes has fixed penalties that take that kind of discretion away from judges and juries, you can't give a misdemeanor slap on the wrist to someone if hate crimes laws are invoked. One of the reasons for hate crimes laws is symbolic, which is why some are opposed to them, it is to set a line in the sand and say that there are things as a society we won't stand for. Some opponents oppose hate crime laws that cover gays because they claim it is the government "supporting sin', it is the same reason they fight against laws protecting lGBT people from job discrimination, discrimination in housing, and so forth, because that 'endorses sin'....some are opposed, saying that crime is crime, and they genuinely believe that, and while I disagree, they aren't necessarily homophobic or racist , either......to be truthful, I wish we didn't need them, but I have seen what the law often does with people who are different, and it is something most people on this board probably haven't faced. It is very easy as a white male or even a white woman to assume the law is fair and so forth, because they haven't run into this, it is something I never understood growing up, until I went on my (aborted) journey and saw it through different eyes.
|