Real hate crime prevention
Not found in a feel-good law.
Remember, I do this to entertain me, not you.
Uncle Pays the Bills
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November 2nd, 2009 at 2:21 pm
“Gays and lesbians seeking protection need two other guys, the ones who go by the name Mr. Smith and Mr. Wesson.”
This guy is nuts. JMB provides much better protection!
Good article though.
November 2nd, 2009 at 7:29 pm
The only good thing about this bill is that it allows outsiders (the Feds) to come in and investigate and prosecute if the locals decide to whitewash the crime because the victim was a “fag.”
I also expect that the reporting requirements that come with it will make victims more likely to report a gay bashing, because they know that someone will be looking over the local’s shoulders, instead of staying quiet out of a fear that the cursory “we didn’t find any evidence” investigation will just piss off their attackers and trigger another attack (which is exactly what happened to Brandon Teena, and he was killed for it). There’s also a fear of the police turning you from a victim into a criminal. As just one example, Virginia’s “crimes against nature” statute is still on the books, and a hostile LEO or prosecutor (or defense attorney for the attackers) can easily distort things to turn someone from a victim into a felon – and they get to present it to a local judge (or jury) who likely shares their prejudices.
I do agree that the punishment should be the same no matter who the victim is. I would also like to see a sunset provision added to any “hate crime” laws – in 25 years or so (maybe even less), it might not be needed anymore, and should go away.
November 2nd, 2009 at 10:38 pm
Jake said: “the punishment should be the same no matter who the victim is”
That is, a thug who bashes a victim over the head because he wants to rob a person would get the same sentence as a homophobe who bashes a gay victim over the head because he hates gays.
What Jake doesn’t realize is that these are two very different crimes. The first is simple aggravated assault. The second is simple aggravated assault PLUS a terrorist attack on the community to which the victim belongs. The second component of this dual crime is intended to strike fear into an entire community and to destabilize it.
Very different crimes should have very different sentences.