Hate Crimes, continued

Well, after my post on my opposition to hate crime statutes, Andrew Sullivan decided that he to would venture into the subject after seeing an article in the Washington Times.

Andrew:

The GOP hysteria over this hate crime law, as opposed to all the others, seems obviously a case of prima facie homophobia. That bigotry obscures the serious case to be made that all these laws are unnecessary infringements on freedom of thought and corrosive of equality under the law.

The Washington Times:

Once homosexuals become a special class protected by hate-crime legislation, the back door is open to prosecuting those who speak out against homosexuality and same-sex marriage.

This touches on another reason for opposition: free speech. As much as I am against things like racism, homophobia, xenophobia, and other discriminatory attitudes, I would fight to the death to preserve that right for everyone - including those who would use such right to defame me. When we criminalize hate crimes, we are in effect criminalizing the speech they use when they commit the regular crime - the reason I specify speech is because that is the only true way that police can discern the intent of hate. This country is above that. I am opposed.

Hate Crimes

Two things brought this post to fruition: a conversation with a friend over my opposition to hate crimes statutes and the recent passage of the Matthew Shepherd Act (adding homosexuality among other attributes to federal hate crime statutes) in the house.

As a gay man myself, this comes after very deep and considerable amounts of thought:

A crime is a crime. It is made no worse by the fact that a crime is committed against someone due to their immutable or projected characteristics. If a person is attacked on the basis of skin color or homosexuality the perpetrator does not deserve a more severe punishment therein than an equal crime committed without the same intent. If anything, the punishment in general should be raised. We cannot truly know an intention. Therefore, the government should not act as big brother by believing that it can divine the intentions of individuals.