I think these kind of laws first appeared when it was clear that people were not being charged by local authorities for things like lynchings, etc. The federal hate crime laws gave the FBI or Dept of Justice to get involved and prosecute people for things that local authorities wouldn't. That's why I agree in spirit with people who say that there is no need for hate crimes laws, but in practice I can see why they exist.
Mike On Jul 9, 2009, at 11:49 AM, Chris Gehlker wrote: > > On Jul 9, 2009, at 8:12 AM, Charles Bennett wrote: > >> <http://www.ohio.com/news/50172282.html> > > > I don't understand the whole hate crimes thing. If somebody beats me > up should it matter whether he is gay and hates me for being straight > or a mobster who objects to the fact that I didn't pay protection? > > I'm so naive that I think justice is when the punishment fits the > crime. I don't see how the racial, religious, gender or sexual > orientation of either the victim or the perpetrator com into it. > _______________________________________________ > OSX-Nutters mailing list | [email protected] > http://lists.tit-wank.com/mailman/listinfo/osx-nutters > List hosted at http://cat5.org/ _______________________________________________ OSX-Nutters mailing list | [email protected] http://lists.tit-wank.com/mailman/listinfo/osx-nutters List hosted at http://cat5.org/
