Five reasons to oppose hate crime bills

We posted Tuesday: Hate Crimes Bill SB264 - Why be Concerned?
A proposed Hate Crimes bill SB264 filed by Senator Hank Wilkins, IV (D-Pine Bluff) is scheduled to be heard before the Arkansas State Senate Committee on Judiciary Committee Tomorrow, Wed., Feb 14th. The hearing on the bill was delayed.

The title of the bill is, ‘AN ACT TO CREATE THE OFFENSE OF HATE CRIME; TO ESTABLISH PENALTIES FOR A HATE CRIME; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.’ Click to read proposed bill. According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), a hate crime is any crime committed because of the victim’s actual or perceived race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, gender or sexual orientation.

Forty-one states have "hate crimes" laws and twenty-two of these laws include sexual orientation. Most of the laws provide enhanced penalties for crimes committed with "hate." No one likes hate, and discrimination is a terrible thing, so hate crime bills appeal to people as the right thing to do to curb a wrong. But hate crime bills are seriously flawed. Hate crime bills attempt to punish people for the way they think. They divide people into classes, and some are to be treated differently and deemed more worthy of protection.

It is time for us to think rationally before enacting a bill that on the surface appears good but the results may prove different. Please Read: Five reasons to oppose hate crime bills
by Patrick Briney, President, Arkansas Republican Assembly, February 15, 2007.

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