I was just perusing the Code of Alabama and found a section dealing with crimes motivated by the victims race, ethnicity, religion, etc... and more specifically with the sentencing of someone found guilty of perpetrating a crime with said motivations. I personally don't like this type of hate crime legislation because I believe it criminalizes thought. If a person murders another person, other than proving he or she had the motivation to do it, how does his or her motivation factor into the equation. This type of legislation worries me because I'm afraid it could eventually lead laws prohibiting certain speech and even holding certain beliefs. Anyway, just thought I would throw it out there for discussion.

What's wrong with criminalising certain thoughts? We criminalise taking cocaine, because people become addicted and then commit crimes to fuel their addiction. So too should we criminalise Mullah's telling people to attack the west, because that will cause westerners to be attacked.

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... I am surprised at your insolence in writing to me at all. You know, as I know, that I bought this constituency... may God's curse light upon you and may it make your women as open and as free to the excise officers as your wives and daughters have always been to me while I have represented your scoundrel corporation.
I have the honour to be... your obliged humble servant, Anthony Henley
- MPs reply to constituent, mid 1700s

Yes, there's a difference between taking cocaine and THINKING about taking it. There's a difference between me thinking about raping a 13 year old girl and me DOING it. Or me thinking about how a politician should be assasinated and me DOING IT.



They do that (attack the west) pretty regularly and are planning to do it again. They're searching for weak spots to use to murder as many of us as they CAN right now:



Imams seek to settle with airline*-*Nation/Politics*-*The Washington Times, America's Newspaper



Yes, they did it once and they aren't done. They'll NEVER be done, Islam MEANS submission, and the hardcore islamists mean to force us to submit no matter HOW hard it is, or HOW long it takes. Still, we can't kill them until they've murdered a lot of US ? We KNOW they're scheming and planning to kill infidels. Wouldn't it at least be wise of us to have our guard up and be watching them ?

Er, yes...

Look, "thought crimes" are not actually crimes about thought. So yes there is a difference between you thinking about doing something bad and actually doing it, but that's not what these crimes are about. These are crimes about actons, such as racial abuse, actions which lead to more crimes.
But I should point out: there is a difference between you thinking about murder and doing it. But that doesn't mean it's a good thing when you think about murdering someone. So if possible, we ought to stop you ever considering it, because you might carry out the action after thinking it. There are obviously practicalities involved, but the principle remains.

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... I am surprised at your insolence in writing to me at all. You know, as I know, that I bought this constituency... may God's curse light upon you and may it make your women as open and as free to the excise officers as your wives and daughters have always been to me while I have represented your scoundrel corporation.
I have the honour to be... your obliged humble servant, Anthony Henley
- MPs reply to constituent, mid 1700s

Yes, there is a big difference between thought and action. Hate crimes are considered a different category of crime because the perpetrator of such a crime commits it at random, commits it due to race/creed/skin color/sex/sexual orientation/etc., and will most likely commit it over, and over, and over, and over again unless caught. These are different than "Crimes of Passion" or even from the majority of serial killers (who generally derive some sort of pleasure from the act of killing alone... not usually because they "hate" that particular group of people they have chosen to kill). People who commit hate crimes are particularly dangerous. They WILL kill again. At random. Because they hate.

Just because a white man kills a black man... it does not mean that he will be charged with a hate crime. There has to be evidence to prove it. If the black man owed the white man money or slept with his girlfriend or attacked him on some other occasion, I think it will be safe to say that he will not be charged with a hate crime. The motive will have been found to be something else. However, if a white man kills a black man who he had never seen or spoken to before and then it is found out that he was talking with friends about "hating niggers" and "killing blacks" and whatnot.. then it is safe to say that it was a hate crime. And it is also pretty safe to say that, if not caught, the person would kill another person of whatever race/creed/skin color/sex, etc. that they hate. I am just using black and white as an easy example but there are plenty of people who hate... anyone, really. Fill in the blanks. And I think it is important to keep "Hate Crime" as a specific form of crime. Because these people are dangerous if they get the confidence to kill..

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Hate crime laws have to be one of the dumbest set of laws on the books. I crime is a freaking crime, end of story.
The only thing dumber is zero tolerance laws. What better way to deal with something than to not have to put any thought into it.

I HATE hate crimes.

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Neither am I the means to any end others may wish to accomplish. I am not a tool for their use. I am not a servant of their needs. I am not a bandage for their wounds. I am not a sacrifice on their altars. ... I owe nothing to my brothers, nor do I gather debts from them. I ask no one to live for me, nor do I live for others. I covet no mans soul, nor is my soul theirs to covet.

Ayn Rand, Anthem.

OH! You're going to go to jail for that one.

I think it is important that they exist. Unfortunately, like any other law... they can be bent and misused. But, that is life. This set of laws aren't going to be any different than any other.

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Why? If a mad circus midget shoots some one because they are white they should just go to jail and serve the punishment handed down to them.