House Republicans derail move to strengthen hate-crimes law

[sniffa]

WASHINGTON -- House Republican negotiators yesterday scuttled a Senate-approved proposal to strengthen the nation's long-standing hate-crimes law and extend its coverage to include crimes against gay men and lesbians.

snip

The proposal also would have eliminated restrictions limiting hate-crime prosecutions to cases where the victims were engaged in federally protected activities, such as voting.

Proponents, led by Senators Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, and Gordon Smith, Republican of Oregon, said the expansion was needed to ensure protection of all hate-crimes victims. Opponents, including prominent House Republican leaders, said labeling something a hate crime punished thought rather than action

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2004/10/08/house_republicans_derail_move_to_strengthen_hate_crimes_law/

how f'n dispicabLe! and the repubs are proud of their actions?

[Beetwasher]

1. Republicans LOVE Hate Crimes and the People Who Commit Them!

They are after all, the Republican base.

How many Repubs just can't wait to be able to slaughter minorities, gays, jews and liberals at will? I think that's a valid question.

[BJ]

2. They don't wanta "slaughter"'em....

...they just want'em back in the closet, out of the country-clubs, on the unemployment line, in the kitchen (barefoot and pregnant, I might add) and in their place.

[w4rma]

3. Some do, but not yet. (nt)

[schultzee]

8. Ditto

[schultzee]

9. I have been phone banking and I have acutally had rePIGs say

to me that they are voting for Bush because he will stop the Gays. Hate is the main emotion of Bush's fundamentalist base, and its easy to see how nazism could take over with these crazies.

[JusticeForAll]

4. With all the alleged "hate crimes"

being committed across the country toward Republican Campaign headquarters (stolen laptops, windows shot through, etc.) and at Republican campaign events, one would think that some compassionate conservatism toward these groups experiencing real crimes would be warranted.

I guess not.

[sr_pacifica]

5. Tacit approval of genocide

Face it, many Republicans would as soon see gay and lesbian people dead.
Implicit in this vote is the idea who can really blame if someone kills someone who is gay or lesbian. Maybe they did something to "deserve" it, like flirt with a guy or hurt some guy's ego? I'm sure the parents of Sakia Gunn and Matthew Shepherd feel great hurt and disappointment over this action.

[jacksonian]

6. murder requires intent

Don't we distinguish murder from manslaughter that way? Is murder a thought crime?

[The Backlash Cometh]

7. And, of course, this continues the trend that lessens penalties for

crimes against minorities committed by mostly white populations.