terratogen wrote:

unmanaged wrote:

Americans overwhelmingly approve of legislation to prevent hate violence. In fact, three in four (or 68%) support expanding hate crimes laws to include sexual orientation and gender identity and giving local law enforcement the tools and resources they need to investigate and prosecute these tragic acts of bigotry.

I am confident that you will champion the will of voters in your community and the majority of Americans, and bring our federal hate crime laws into the 21st Century, by ensuring that all of our citizens are protected against senseless hate violence.

While a random act of violence against any individual is always a tragic event, we know that violent crimes based on prejudice are meant to terrorize an entire community.

As Americans, we must defend our neighbors from becoming victims of bias-motivated violence.

So get out there and send a message.
I am not gay or part of any alternative lifestyle but there is no place for violence in our country even if you think what someone else is doing is wrong. There are other ways to express your views and violence is not the way.

More info here... http://www.hrc.org/

I don't see how violence toward alternative lifestyles is any worse than violence toward anyone else. I think this sort of law skews the justice system. I think it encourages unfair discrimination. Laws which force special treatment never end up creating equality.

Violence doesn't usually happen because people like each other. Most violence is hateful.

That's the sole argument that comes up in these cases and I am going to say it is not correct. There is a fundamental difference between violence directed at someone because of who they are (an ass) versus what they are (black, gay, jewish etc.)

One of them is a function of personal interaction and if someone is a ass, then what happens, while probably not appropriate, is a function of who they are and how they act. The second is a mob response and should have a stronger response. Had Mattew Sheppard been killed because he was an asshole, then it falls into the same category as any other random fight in a bar. He wasn't. He was killed because he was gay and the rednecks with small dicks were so scared he might be checking out their asses, they beat him, broke his skull, then tied him to a fence post in the middle of nowhere to die.

As a rule I'm opposed to the death penalty because it's too easy to kill the wrong person. With these bastards? Hand them over to Edward Longshanks.

RE: Pass the Matthew Shepard Act...