Hate Crimes Laws

It's pretty apparent that there is an organized group, or gang, or just a few friends, who are out assaulting Gay folks in Salt Lake City.  There was another incident in American Fork the other night.  Might be a stretch to connect them, but it shows a pattern.

We here in Utah are not very tolerant of other points of view, other lifestyles, religions, races or even political views.  Kids have been kept off soccer teams because they weren't, "A member" according to one of the, "other soccer moms" I was talking to last night at my son's game.

I'm pretty sure that if you're reading this, you know I don't think being Gay is a, "Lifestyle".  It's not a choice.  I never choose the, "Hetero Lifestyle".  It was, well, Gods will for me?

Being poor is not a choice.  Who would choose that?  Being Black is not a choice.  Or Arab or Asian.  And I would argue that for most folks, being Jewish, or Mormon, or Catholic, or Baptist is NOT a choice.  Not for YOU.  You're parents made that choice and you had to live with it.  At least until you could afford to move out of your parents home.

I'm an Atheist.  I made that choice.  Because after thinking I wanted to be a Presbyterian Minister when I was a teenager, I went to college and learned HOW to think, instead of WHAT to think, and ended up a cynical, Probation/Parole Agent.  And knowing HOW to think served me well.

I'm not a lawyer.  I have no law degree.  I'm not a Constitutional Scholar.  I have a BS Degree in Sociology, with an emphasis in Criminology and Corrections and a Minor in Psychology.  And 23 years experience in law enforcement.

I'm a Liberal.  I'm a Democrat.  And I'm going to tell you a couple of things about me that you won't think are congruent with those statements.  I think hate crime laws are wrong, and I support the death penalty.  And I'll tell you why.

Lets deal with the death penalty first.  If you kill someone, society should kill you back.  That's only fair.  You took a life?  You don't deserve to live.  I'm not talking about by accident.  I mean, if you shoot a Cop to keep from going to jail, or shoot your ex-wife because you don't want to pay your bills, you should get killed by society.  It just proves we have one.  And we're serious about you listening to the rules.

If you drink and drive, you deserve to go to jail.  At least on the second offense.  Any one can screw up once.  If you steal from someone, same deal.  You get one chance to prove you won't do it again, and if you do?  You are going to get locked up.

Killing someone has no, "do overs".  You can't offer your life as restitution.  Only as the ultimate fine payment.

Now lets talk about hate crimes.  And the Constitution.

Hate crimes are wrong.  They are evil.  We as Americans should be above this behavior!  Whether its about religion, race, sexual orientation, politics, college football, or as proven this summer, MLB or NFL teams.

I'd like to include, "Creed" in this, because you always hear, "race, religion or creed".  But creed, according to The American Heritage Dictionary, means, "A statement of the essential articles of a religious belief" and I think we have covered THAT.

Doing something to someone because you don't like what they are, Gay, religious, not religious, not YOUR religion, not your race, not your political affiliation is stupid.  It's anti American!  It's everything that we should hate in this country.  It is wrong on EVERY level!  I despise the concept of hate crime.  The fact that it happens in this country lessens us, as a people.

That being said.  I think the laws are Unconstitutional.

Have you ever heard the statement, "Your right to swing your fist, ends at MY nose!"?    Well, it does.  As long as you don't do something that hurts me, you're free to do it.  Except smoke pot, I guess.

AND, and here's the key, you're free to THINK whatever you want to think in this country.  You can be crazy enough to think there is no man made global climate change.  You are free to think that there is an imaginary friend in the sky who planned the whole world and made it happen and evolution is, "just a theory that is out there" like, Rick Perry.

You can THINK there was no, Holocaust, even if you're wrong.  You can THINK being Gay is a lifestyle, even though you're wrong.  You can THINK that your imaginary friend in the sky gave, Joe Smith some gold plates and then took them back to heaven before anyone else saw them, even though your gullible as hell. 

THINKING dumb stuff is NOT illegal.  It's crazy, but it's not illegal.  You can THINK anything you can possibly, THINK in this country and be Constitutionally protected.  You can even publish your gibberish, and not face legal sanctions.  So think what ever you want.  THAT should not put you in jail.  But it should get you put in a mental hospital sometimes.  We can argue about when.

But WHAT you were thinking WHEN you committed a crime?  That is totally irrelevant.

Committing the crime, IS the crime.  If I punch you in the nose, in Utah, that's a Misdemeanor Assault.  Should it be a Felony if I did it because of your religion, race or sexual orientation?  No.  I punched you in the nose.  Does it really matter why?  I think not.

Hate crimes criminalize thought.  And as much as some thought is wrong and evil and crazy?  It's JUST thought.  Acting on that thought is the crime. 

Punching you in the nose because you came to Utah to cheer for your college football team should not be treated any less serious than punching you in the nose because your Jewish.  It's still a punch in the nose.  And it shouldn't be teated any more severely, either.

So I hope they catch this group of Gay Bashers that's out in SLC lately.  And some of the assault's seem to me, as an ex-Cop to rise to the level of, Aggravated Assault, and punish them accordingly.  I'm pretty sure that punishment will be enough.