|
by Nick Coons
|
|
Yesterday, Congress passed their final approval on new hate-crime legislation that would target violent crime against homosexuals. The whole concept of "hate crimes", categorizing them as separate from other violent crimes, is absurd; which is all the more reason to believe that President Obama will sign it into law.
Is it more wrong to stab someone because they're gay than to stab them because they like chocolate?
Do legislators think that such crimes will be reduced because they're gathered into a shiny new statutory group? Do they imagine that someone will think to himself, "Hmm, well I was going to murder that guy over there even though it's illegal, but he's gay, and I don't want to be accused of a hate crime."
This really starts to border on "thought" crime. If the consequences of attacking someone are X, and the consequences of attacking someone because he's homosexual is X+Y, then the consequences of thinking about attacking someone because he's homosexual must be Y.
From a libertarian perspective, this is actually very simple. A violent crime is a violent crime, and should be prosecuted because it is... wait for it... a violent crime.
Related Content:
Marriage in Perspective - Richard Sutton
Have We Learned Nothing? - Kimberly Ruff
They Hate Us for Our Freedoms - Nick Coons
|
Listen Live on the Liberty Radio Network, Sundays at 2pm EST.
