Guest Opinion/Commentary*

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Repeal All “Hate Crimes” Laws
  Culture War piece by Guest: Matt Barber

Lynchburg, VA - The U.S. Senate is preparing to vote any day on S. 909, a bill that would grant specially preferred government status to a select few citizens based on the behaviorally driven, fluid and undefined concepts of “sexual orientation” and “gender identity;“ this, to the express exclusion of other citizens.

While the House version of the bill was being considered, some lawmakers attempted to make it more inclusive and curtail its inherent discriminatory nature by offering an amendment that would include other identifiable groups such as veterans, the elderly and the homeless. The bill’s sponsors inexplicably rejected that request without explanation.

“This underscores the fact that all ‘hate crimes’ laws, both state and federal, inarguably advance ‘unequal’ protection of the laws,” said Matt Barber, Director of Cultural Affairs with both Liberty Counsel and Liberty Alliance Action. “This flies in the face of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

“For this reason I am calling for lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, in Washington and around the country, to not only reject S. 909, but to begin working toward repeal of all state and federal ‘hate crimes’ laws.

“All violent crimes are ‘hate crimes,’” continued Barber. “I’ve never known anyone cracked upside the head in love. There may have been a time when ‘hate crimes’ laws were temporarily necessary, but that time has come and gone. When the 1968 federal ‘hate crimes’ bill passed, there were multiple and verifiable cases of local prosecutors refusing to indict whites for violent crimes committed against blacks. This was the justification for the law in the first place.

“That’s simply not the case today and FBI statistics bear out that reality. In today’s America every citizen, without fail, is both guaranteed and granted equal protection of the law – in the absence of ‘hate crimes’ laws – regardless of race, religion, gender, disability, ‘sexual orientation,’ ‘gender identity,’ dominate hand, favorite color or American Idol pick. This renders all extraneous ‘hate crimes’ laws woefully obsolete and fatally discriminatory.

“S. 909 and existing ‘hate crimes’ laws create a two tiered justice system with first-class victims and second-class victims. Second-class victims, such as the elderly, veterans, the homeless or children, are explicitly denied the same resources, attention and justice given to those who are arbitrarily deemed to be first-class victims. This is as un-American as it is unfair,” said Barber.

“Rather than continuing down the wrong path and creating new ‘hate crimes’ laws that unfairly favor whichever boutique special interest group screams the loudest, we should move toward inclusion and equality for all Americans. We should look to the future instead of the past. We should both reject S. 909 and repeal all demonstrably outdated and discriminatory ‘hate crimes’ laws.

“Both sides of the S. 909 debate can come together. Nothing is impossible. This is the perfect compromise. ‘Hate crimes’ laws are divisive and unnecessary. The debate over S. 909 is tearing us apart rather than bringing us together. Instead, let’s increase enforcement of existing criminal laws and enhance penalties for all violent criminals across the board, regardless of who the victim might be. Let’s promote inclusion, not exclusion. Let’s embrace diversity, not discrimination.”

Posted by Guest: Matt Barber on 5/21/09 at 10:21 AM
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