In late October, President Obama signed into law the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, making it a federal crime to assault people based on their sexual orientation.
President Obama on Wednesday signed a law that makes it a federal crime to assault an individual because of his or her sexual orientation or gender identity.
The expanded federal hate crimes law, hailed by supporters as the first major federal gay rights legislation, was added to a $680 billion defense authorization bill that Obama signed at a packed White House ceremony.
The law was named after Matthew Shepard, who was brutally tortured and murdered in 1998, because his killers couldn't stand his sexual preferences; and James Byrd, Jr., a black man horribly murdered the same year by white supremacists in Texas, which had no hate crime laws at the time. While what was done to these men is indisputably heinous, I am a little unclear about what proponents of this law expect it to accomplish.
Even without "hate crime" laws, the killers could be charged with murder, and all the other crimes associated with their atrocities. Would what they did have been any less horrible if not motivated by bigotry? Do killers who don't hate their victims somehow deserve more mercy from the courts than those who do?
Even the title of the bill is misleading: " . . . Hate Crimes Prevention Act"? Laws don't "prevent" crimes; they punish them, after the fact. Sure, it's to be hoped that laws, and the negative consequences of breaking them, will act as a deterrent, but if that deterrence were very reliably effective, we would presumably not have a prison population of over 2 million.
Will the family and friends of the next Matthew Shepard or James Byrd, Jr. take much comfort in the fact that the killers will now face these new, federal penalties? Would they not instead vastly prefer that the "hate criminals" were stopped in their tracks?
Pink Pistols is a group with just that as its purpose.
There are now over 45 Pink Pistols chapters nationwide, and more are starting up every day. We are dedicated to the legal, safe, and responsible use of firearms for self-defense of the sexual-minority community. We no longer believe it is the right of those who hate and fear gay, lesbian, bi, trans, or polyamorous persons to use us as targets for their rage. Self-defense is our RIGHT.
The Pink Pistols get together at least once a month at local firing ranges to practice shooting, and to acquaint people new to firearms with them. We will help you select a firearm, acquire a permit, and receive proper training in its safe and legal use for self-defense. The more people know that members of our community may be armed, the less likely they will be to single us out for attack. Join us today. It is your RIGHT.
No assortment of laws will ever end hatred, or even the violent expression of that hatred. What will is the ability on the part of the targets to fight back. The Pink Pistols chapters are helping to provide those targets with that ability. That's "hate crime prevention."
Incidentally, the new law also extends its "protection" to the disabled, and being paraplegic, I would thus be one of the supposed beneficiaries of this legislation. Thanks, but I've made other arrangements.
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Austin Gun Rights Examiner Howard Nemerov will be on NRA News' flagship program "Cam & Company" Friday night at 11:20pm Eastern to talk about his article Somali pirates attack Maersk Alabama again, defeated by armed security
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Comments
OMG, ramp up the panic button, it's the "People Not Like Us Are Claiming To Own Their Own Lives Again" alert. Quick, someone tell the Brady Bunch to don their capes--they know what to do about fanatics. You know, before things get out of hand. (My God, just think of what those people might do...if they can resist, they can say NO, and if they can say NO, then...we'll have to...negotiate with them like...like...human beings.)
What? Helmke and crew already know? Then why aren't they...ah, gotcha. (As Wendy McElroy might say: ooh, sticky wicket, eh wot?)
Nice article, Kurt. It is always encouraging to see examples of peaceable people affirming that they do not need protection from the state.
It's all about appearances rather than substance.
Your tax dollars wasted againby this bill. The author is right. It accomplishes nothing. The politician who came up with that bill should be defeated in the next election for wasting tax dollars. I agree that the best way to take a bite out of "hate" crimnes or cimes in general is to teach the victims how to defend themselves. The problem is you cannot always predict when you are about to become a victim and carrying a concealed weapon at all times is not always legal in most states. Concealed weapons permits are hard to get in many states. I firmly believe every person should have the right to defend themselves, learn good gun safety, and be able to purchase a gun with minimal government intervention. If a gun is not practical learn to use a knife, a walking stick, etc. A tightly rolled up newspaper can kill. No one has to be defenseless in public.
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