Hate Crimes Are Now Federal Crimes
Today the Senate passed a new law that would classify any hate crime as a federal crime. For those of you who remember the tragic story of Matthew Shepard, this story will bring back a lot of emotions that you felt when you learned what happened to that young man all because of his sexual orientation. This is an important piece of legislation, and I'm glad our country is finally taking the necessary steps to harshly penalize people who commit hate crimes.
For those of you unfamiliar with what hate crimes are, here is the official definition on the FBI's website. "A hate crime, also known as a bias crime, is a criminal offense committed against a person, property, or society that is motivated, in whole or in part, by the offender's bias against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or ethnicity/national origin." I think this is a very important piece of legislation. In the past I often associated the term "hate crime" with only sexual orientation. But according to the FBI definition, hate crimes include crimes that are committed towards people for many other reasons, not solely for their sexual orientation. I think it's important for people to understand we will no longer tolerate these crimes, and if you want to be a hateful bully, you will be punished to the full extent of the law.
Attorney General Eric Holder stated, "More than 77,000 hate-crime incidents were reported by the FBI between 1998 and 2007, or nearly one hate crime for every hour of every day over the span of a decade." That's a significant number of crimes being committed on innocent people for things in their lives they have no control over, such as; race, sexuality, or disability. As always, there are a few groups that are against such legislation. As reported by CNN.com, " Several religious groups have expressed concern that a hate-crimes law could be used to criminalize conservative speech relating to subjects such as abortion or homosexuality." To reassure these religious groups Attorney General Eric Holder has stated, "Any federal hate-crimes law would be used only to prosecute violent acts based on bias, as opposed to the prosecutions of speech based on controversial racial or religious beliefs." You would hope that people could make the distinction between freedom of speech and religion and committing an actual hate crime. I don't think the lines are that blurred. Several religious groups were unable to make this distinction, which is pretty sad. I only wish this article provided examples of what federal punishments could be expected if you plan on committing a hate crime. They don't offer any examples, and in fact they go off on a gay marriage/domestic partners tangent. I found that as being a little odd.
Overall, I was excited to read about this new law. I think it's, if nothing else, a fitting tribute to Matthew Shepard and his family. It's very sad that his life had to end so suddenly and tragically. Hopefully this legislation will prevent similar crimes from occurring. My only question is...what took so long?
For those of you unfamiliar with what hate crimes are, here is the official definition on the FBI's website. "A hate crime, also known as a bias crime, is a criminal offense committed against a person, property, or society that is motivated, in whole or in part, by the offender's bias against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or ethnicity/national origin." I think this is a very important piece of legislation. In the past I often associated the term "hate crime" with only sexual orientation. But according to the FBI definition, hate crimes include crimes that are committed towards people for many other reasons, not solely for their sexual orientation. I think it's important for people to understand we will no longer tolerate these crimes, and if you want to be a hateful bully, you will be punished to the full extent of the law.
Attorney General Eric Holder stated, "More than 77,000 hate-crime incidents were reported by the FBI between 1998 and 2007, or nearly one hate crime for every hour of every day over the span of a decade." That's a significant number of crimes being committed on innocent people for things in their lives they have no control over, such as; race, sexuality, or disability. As always, there are a few groups that are against such legislation. As reported by CNN.com, " Several religious groups have expressed concern that a hate-crimes law could be used to criminalize conservative speech relating to subjects such as abortion or homosexuality." To reassure these religious groups Attorney General Eric Holder has stated, "Any federal hate-crimes law would be used only to prosecute violent acts based on bias, as opposed to the prosecutions of speech based on controversial racial or religious beliefs." You would hope that people could make the distinction between freedom of speech and religion and committing an actual hate crime. I don't think the lines are that blurred. Several religious groups were unable to make this distinction, which is pretty sad. I only wish this article provided examples of what federal punishments could be expected if you plan on committing a hate crime. They don't offer any examples, and in fact they go off on a gay marriage/domestic partners tangent. I found that as being a little odd.
Overall, I was excited to read about this new law. I think it's, if nothing else, a fitting tribute to Matthew Shepard and his family. It's very sad that his life had to end so suddenly and tragically. Hopefully this legislation will prevent similar crimes from occurring. My only question is...what took so long?
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