LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL
.
HATE CRIMINALS HAVE CREATED A SPECIAL KIND OF CRIME
YOUTUBE: US CITIZENSHIP CEREMONY
"Pledge of Allegiance"
Some people get it. But they're not Republicans.
A SPECIAL LAW WAS REQUIRED IN ORDER TO DEAL WITH THESE SPECIAL CRIMES
Conservatards Quake With Fear That They Might Be Caught Thinking Criminally.
We'd Like To See Them Thinking At All.
Ironically, it is the law & order types who dream of technology that can read people's minds and discover criminal intent. They love good old torture for the same reason: They think it exposes the inner thoughts and intent of criminals and terrorists. But the idea that the same logic might be applied to them has them pissing in their Depends, the old fools.
In America, we insist on the absolute freedom to think anything you want. We defend the right of free expression to the death, from avant garde art to rebellious polemics, from nude dancing to Ku Klux Klan rallies. There is no such thing as "hate speech" in the law here. Hate all you want in the good old USA. As long as you don't act or incite others to act criminally, it's all good. But once you do commit a criminal act, your intent becomes a matter of interest under the law. Under the new hate crimes legislation passed by the US House of Representatives, those who commit crimes motivated by hatred and prejudice against real or perceived groups will find judges and juries most attentive to the messages they were trying to send by committing their crimes. As well they should.
"Intent" is always considered in criminal cases. That's the difference between First and Second Degree Murder, and between Murder and Manslaughter, or Manslaughter and Accidental Death: Did the accused mean to kill? What was his or her state of mind? Was he or she drunk, high, crazy, terrified? Did they act "with malice aforethought"? Did they show any remorse, or did they try to cover up their crime? Do they show remorse now? Is it genuine?
These are the kinds of questions we ask judges and juries to decide. That's why they're there: To exercise their judgment, and try to understand the motivations of an accused person. Maybe they killed in self-defense, or by accident. Maybe they killed for money, or to cover up a crime. Motive matters.
The fact is, it's the perpetrators themselves who have created this special class of crime. The new law simply recognizes an old fact. In many cases, the perpetrators have no connection to their victims, don't even know them, had no reason to do anything to them, not even robbery. They chose to make a statement of their ideas, attitudes or feelings about another "kind" of person or perceived group of persons by committing what is, in any circumstances, a crime against them. They committed a crime against another person BECAUSE of that persons' actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability.
Who and what the victim was provided the motivation for a criminal act. The perpetrator chose to break the law for the purpose of striking out against a whole group of people, an act of extraordinary anti-socialism. They chose to use crime to make a statement to all of society, to hurt and terrorize an entire class of human beings. They chose to move from thought to action, from thinking to doing, from abstract to concrete, from ideal to real. They forced this issue by moving beyond symbolism to actual crime. The new law does not criminalize thought, nor does it criminalize behavior that was not already criminal under the law: Assault, battery, rape, murder, arson, and other crimes of violence with intent to cause bodily injury: Crimes without a doubt, since time immemorial.
Under all of our laws, once a crime is proved, the punishment must always hinge on intent. We've already singled out for special punishment our convicted cop-killers, kiddie-porn producers, schoolyard drug-dealers, thieving traitors-for-money, etc. They are punished more severely because of the intent and the special circumstances behind the crime. Hate-criminals have chosen to commit crimes solely, initially or primarily out of hate. If this motivation is not recognized by the law, then how are police and prosecutors to collect evidence and prepare cases? How are judges and juries to proceed? What criteria are they supposed to use to determine the type and severity of the crime, and of the punishment? The logic of the law and the imperatives of justice cannot allow for ambiguity. Without a law like this, justice cannot be done in cases like these, either from a legal, philosophical, moral or emotional point of view. You would be leaving the police and prosecutors without legal guidelines, and judges and juries without a lawful standard by which to judge. In order for our system of justice to work, tools like this new law are required.
Determining intent is a vital part of what the law is all about, and it's why we have a criminal justice system, and trial by juries. We trust juries to make these determinations as they make every other determination in the thousands of criminal cases across the country every day. The system is not perfect, but it is the best we have. If the right-tards don't get that, they don't get America. "With Liberty and Justice for ALL," it says in the Pledge of Allegiance that they themselves insist schoolchildren recite every day. Don't they mean it?
The victims and the perpetrators of crimes motivated by hatred and prejudice deserve justice. Now they will get it. This new law is long overdue, and it reaffirms a simple fact: We are one nation indivisible, where all men and women are created equal, and we demand that people be treated as such. This not Serbia or Rwanda, Nazi Germany or Stalinist Russia. The days of the Bund and the Klan are over. We are a great melting pot, and our diversity is our strength, always has been. Now we have a law to preserve, protect, ensure and defend that diversity. Let those who cannot abide it go somewhere else. Their hateful acts will no longer be tolerated, even though their hateful speech continues to be protected.
Rest easy, Republicans. We real Americans are not like you: We value, honor and uphold freedom & justice, in our deeds and not just in our words. Hate all you want, you sick bastards. But act on that hate, and we will bust you.
Thanks to Pam's House Blend for bringing this up.
OPEN CONGRESS
"HR 1913 Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009"
The Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act
.
.
IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM YOUR BLOGGERS:
SUPPORT OUR TROOPS: BRING THEM ALL HOME ALIVE, NOW!
HATE CRIMINALS HAVE CREATED A SPECIAL KIND OF CRIME
YOUTUBE: US CITIZENSHIP CEREMONY
"Pledge of Allegiance"
Some people get it. But they're not Republicans.
A SPECIAL LAW WAS REQUIRED IN ORDER TO DEAL WITH THESE SPECIAL CRIMES
Conservatards Quake With Fear That They Might Be Caught Thinking Criminally.
We'd Like To See Them Thinking At All.
Ironically, it is the law & order types who dream of technology that can read people's minds and discover criminal intent. They love good old torture for the same reason: They think it exposes the inner thoughts and intent of criminals and terrorists. But the idea that the same logic might be applied to them has them pissing in their Depends, the old fools.
In America, we insist on the absolute freedom to think anything you want. We defend the right of free expression to the death, from avant garde art to rebellious polemics, from nude dancing to Ku Klux Klan rallies. There is no such thing as "hate speech" in the law here. Hate all you want in the good old USA. As long as you don't act or incite others to act criminally, it's all good. But once you do commit a criminal act, your intent becomes a matter of interest under the law. Under the new hate crimes legislation passed by the US House of Representatives, those who commit crimes motivated by hatred and prejudice against real or perceived groups will find judges and juries most attentive to the messages they were trying to send by committing their crimes. As well they should.
"Intent" is always considered in criminal cases. That's the difference between First and Second Degree Murder, and between Murder and Manslaughter, or Manslaughter and Accidental Death: Did the accused mean to kill? What was his or her state of mind? Was he or she drunk, high, crazy, terrified? Did they act "with malice aforethought"? Did they show any remorse, or did they try to cover up their crime? Do they show remorse now? Is it genuine?
These are the kinds of questions we ask judges and juries to decide. That's why they're there: To exercise their judgment, and try to understand the motivations of an accused person. Maybe they killed in self-defense, or by accident. Maybe they killed for money, or to cover up a crime. Motive matters.
The fact is, it's the perpetrators themselves who have created this special class of crime. The new law simply recognizes an old fact. In many cases, the perpetrators have no connection to their victims, don't even know them, had no reason to do anything to them, not even robbery. They chose to make a statement of their ideas, attitudes or feelings about another "kind" of person or perceived group of persons by committing what is, in any circumstances, a crime against them. They committed a crime against another person BECAUSE of that persons' actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability.
Who and what the victim was provided the motivation for a criminal act. The perpetrator chose to break the law for the purpose of striking out against a whole group of people, an act of extraordinary anti-socialism. They chose to use crime to make a statement to all of society, to hurt and terrorize an entire class of human beings. They chose to move from thought to action, from thinking to doing, from abstract to concrete, from ideal to real. They forced this issue by moving beyond symbolism to actual crime. The new law does not criminalize thought, nor does it criminalize behavior that was not already criminal under the law: Assault, battery, rape, murder, arson, and other crimes of violence with intent to cause bodily injury: Crimes without a doubt, since time immemorial.
Under all of our laws, once a crime is proved, the punishment must always hinge on intent. We've already singled out for special punishment our convicted cop-killers, kiddie-porn producers, schoolyard drug-dealers, thieving traitors-for-money, etc. They are punished more severely because of the intent and the special circumstances behind the crime. Hate-criminals have chosen to commit crimes solely, initially or primarily out of hate. If this motivation is not recognized by the law, then how are police and prosecutors to collect evidence and prepare cases? How are judges and juries to proceed? What criteria are they supposed to use to determine the type and severity of the crime, and of the punishment? The logic of the law and the imperatives of justice cannot allow for ambiguity. Without a law like this, justice cannot be done in cases like these, either from a legal, philosophical, moral or emotional point of view. You would be leaving the police and prosecutors without legal guidelines, and judges and juries without a lawful standard by which to judge. In order for our system of justice to work, tools like this new law are required.
Determining intent is a vital part of what the law is all about, and it's why we have a criminal justice system, and trial by juries. We trust juries to make these determinations as they make every other determination in the thousands of criminal cases across the country every day. The system is not perfect, but it is the best we have. If the right-tards don't get that, they don't get America. "With Liberty and Justice for ALL," it says in the Pledge of Allegiance that they themselves insist schoolchildren recite every day. Don't they mean it?
The victims and the perpetrators of crimes motivated by hatred and prejudice deserve justice. Now they will get it. This new law is long overdue, and it reaffirms a simple fact: We are one nation indivisible, where all men and women are created equal, and we demand that people be treated as such. This not Serbia or Rwanda, Nazi Germany or Stalinist Russia. The days of the Bund and the Klan are over. We are a great melting pot, and our diversity is our strength, always has been. Now we have a law to preserve, protect, ensure and defend that diversity. Let those who cannot abide it go somewhere else. Their hateful acts will no longer be tolerated, even though their hateful speech continues to be protected.
Rest easy, Republicans. We real Americans are not like you: We value, honor and uphold freedom & justice, in our deeds and not just in our words. Hate all you want, you sick bastards. But act on that hate, and we will bust you.
Thanks to Pam's House Blend for bringing this up.
OPEN CONGRESS
"HR 1913 Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009"
The Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act
' Sec. 249. Hate crime acts
`(a) In General-
`(1) OFFENSES INVOLVING ACTUAL OR PERCEIVED RACE, COLOR, RELIGION, OR NATIONAL ORIGIN- Whoever, whether or not acting under color of law, willfully causes bodily injury to any person or, through the use of fire, a firearm, a dangerous weapon, or an explosive or incendiary device, attempts to cause bodily injury to any person, because of the actual or perceived race, color, religion, or national origin of any person--
`(A) shall be imprisoned not more than 10 years, fined in accordance with this title, or both; and
`(B) shall be imprisoned for any term of years or for life, fined in accordance with this title, or both, if--
`(i) death results from the offense; or
`(ii) the offense includes kidnaping or an attempt to kidnap, aggravated sexual abuse or an attempt to commit aggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt to kill.
`(2) OFFENSES INVOLVING ACTUAL OR PERCEIVED RELIGION, NATIONAL ORIGIN, GENDER, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, GENDER IDENTITY, OR DISABILITY-
`(A) IN GENERAL- Whoever, whether or not acting under color of law, in any circumstance described in subparagraph (B), willfully causes bodily injury to any person or, through the use of fire, a firearm, a dangerouse weapon, or an explosive or incendiary device, attempts to cause bodily injury to any person, because of the actual or perceived religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability of any person--
`(i) shall be imprisoned not more than 10 years, fined in accordance with this title, or both; and
`(ii) shall be imprisoned for any term of years or for life, fined in accordance with this title, or both, if--
`(I) death results from the offense; or
`(II) the offense includes kidnaping or an attempt to kidnap, aggravated sexual abuse or an attempt to commit aggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt to kill. '
.
.
Labels: Asian, bisexual, black, Conservatives, FOREIGN, Gay, hate crimes, hate speech, HR 1913, immigrant, Jewish, Latino, lesbian, minorities, thought criminals, thought police, transgendered, transsexual
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posted by Cosa Nostradamus @ 5/12/2009 12:03:00 AM
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