This article about abortion and the Holocaust and Germany's strange (to Americans) slander laws stimulated one Dallas Blog reader to change the subject to his own anti-gay obsession, arguing against America's own hate crime legislation. He professes to not understand why one murder is any different than another.
The premise behind hate crime legislation is that hate crimes are two crimes in one. First, there's the murder itself. The murder is prosecuted, judged and punished like any other murder. Second, there's the intimidation against others of the same class (blacks, gays, Christians, whatever). That intimidation is prosecuted, judged and punished separately, even though it's all done in the same trial. This is similar to many other situations where one criminal act actually breaks several laws.
I used to support hate crime legislation. I'm now neutral, because too many otherwise good people don't understand this and side with the racists and homophobes on the issue, thus unintentionally encouraging the very crimes the legislation is intended to deter.
P.S. Tom Pauken is still blocking me from commenting on Dallas Blog itself.
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