Washington, D.C., Feb. 3, 2013: Officials in D.C. are reportedly seeking tougher punishment for hate crimes committed in the area in a partnership between the mayor's office, county prosecutors and the GLBT community. This might be another huge step forward in the push for equal rights for homosexuals in that it is showing the seriousness in protecting them from violent attacks.
This announcement was made on the one year anniversary of Deoni Jones' murder. Jones was stabbed to death in a hate fueled murder, all because she was a transgender woman. Officials in D.C. want people who are convicted of hate or biased crimes to be punished more harshly -- and this might help in deterring the behavior.
Do you agree with this recent attention to hate crimes? Some people don't believe hate crimes exist, attributing all acts of violence to "hate," but it's apparent that sometimes violence is fueled by an irrational hatred of a group of people. In the case of Deoni Jones, she was murdered because of someone's ignorance regarding her adopted gender. And this is a cold reality to so many Americans of different colors, shapes, sizes and sexual orientations.
Comments