Hate Crime Laws Essay examples -- Hate Crime Essays

Imagine you are a family member of a man who was chained up to the back of a pickup truck and drug along a gravel road for two miles until he was dead. Then imagine how you would feel after you found out that this happened just because he was a black man. Things like this sicken me. I believe that the people that are responsible for these horrific crimes should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. That is why I strongly support hate crime laws. Now, before I dive into this very controversial subject, I should probably define what hate crime laws are so you will have a better understanding of what I am talking about. As I have understood it, hate crime laws are laws that protect certain minorities or groups from bias motivated violence and harassment, and also more harshly punish people that commit these crimes against them. As I started to do my research on hate crime laws I began to notice that there are many experts that are on my side of this issue, and very few experts that oppose hate crime legislation. According to Issues and Controversies on File some experts that do not support hate crime laws believe that these laws â€Å"perpetuate inequality among U.S. citizens†. They say that hate crime laws â€Å"single out† or pick the minorities that get the special privileges while other groups don’t get any protection. The way they see it is, â€Å"why should it be any more of a crime to attack a gay person, they ask, than a heterosexual person?†(506). Other experts that oppose hate crime laws such as Don Feder, believe that these laws deny another basic concept of democracy (equality before law) by creating different classes of victims†(3). Feder says that â€Å"anti-bias laws punish ideas.† He believes that the... ...ated Violence.† Corrections Today August, 1999; 68 3.†Hate Crime Laws.† Issues and Controversies on File. Dec. 25, 1998. 4.†Hate Speech†. Issues and Controversies on File. June 4, 1999. 5.Hays, Kristen. â€Å"Suspect Charged With Hate Crime.† Vancouver Columbian Mar. 3, 2000:A2. 6.Jacobs, James B. â€Å"Hate Crime Legislation: Challenging Intolerance.† Current Sep. 1992: 7.Jost, Kenneth. â€Å"Hate Crimes.† The CQ Researcher Jan.8, 1993 8.McCafferty, Dennis â€Å"WWW.HATE.COMES TO YOUR HOME: Is it Free Speech? Or Does it Incite Violence?† USA Weekend March 26-28: 6-7 9.McCarthy, Sarah J. â€Å"Fertile Ground For Terrorist?† Humanist Jan./Feb. 1999: 15-16. 10.Sheppard, Nathaniel, Jr. â€Å"Hate in Cyberspace.† Emerge July- Aug. 1996 34-40. 11.Title 9A. Washington Criminal Code: Chapter 9A.36, Assault-Physical Harm. â€Å"West Revised Code of Washington Annotated. 1999.