« Three Cheers for the Judicial Council | Main | Christian America? Not Happening »

Comments

Earl

Is this a joke?

John Meunier

I'm curious if you looked for any views other than the ones advanced by a few partisans?

I suspect the issues and the debate are considerably more nuanced than this. This reads like a fund-raising letter.

Creed Pogue

Does "bearing false witness" mean anything to you???

You and I will wait until Judgement Day for someone to actually get off for child molestation using this provision. Like John said, this is the same type of "reasoning" one expects from a right-wing fundraising letter or fear-mongering from the political people at Focus.

Earl

Apparently this is not a joke. Given the circus that is currently being run in washington, it was reasonable to hope that this legislation was a joke.

From a review of the links provided it would appear that in this case, liberal democrats have managed the impossible... they have kicked themselves after the manner of that sterile hybrid that represents their party. This is one time when no effort need be made by conservatives to expose the lack of thoughtful consideration that could possibly lead anyone to support such a bill. In this case of this law, ignorance is no excuse.

John B

It's too bad that John M & CP can say nothing that rationalizes this bill being passed. Perhaps it's because there can be no rational reason.

John Meunier

John,

I'm not defending the bill, I'm asking for some reasonable discussion of it.

If you were framing the discussion of some left-wing agenda with the same acceptance of the party-line, I'd question that as well.

Here is a summary of the bill produced by the Congressional Research Service:

Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009 - Authorizes the Attorney General to provide technical, forensic, prosecutorial, or other assistance in the criminal investigation or prosecution of any crime that: (1) constitutes a crime of violence under federal law or a felony under state, local, or Indian tribal law; and (2) is motivated by prejudice based on the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability of the victim, or is a violation of the state, local, or tribal hate crime laws. Directs the Attorney General to give priority for assistance to crimes committed by offenders who have committed crimes in more than one state and to rural jurisdictions that have difficulty covering the extraordinary investigation or prosecution expenses.
Authorizes the Attorney General to award grants to assist state, local, and Indian law enforcement agencies with such extraordinary expenses. Directs the Office of Justice Programs to: (1) work closely with funded jurisdictions to ensure that the concerns and needs of all affected parties are addressed; and (2) award grants to state and local programs designed to combat hate crimes committed by juveniles.
Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit willfully causing bodily injury to any person because of the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability of such person.
Amends the Hate Crimes Statistics Act to expand data collection and reporting requirements under such Act to include: (1) crimes manifesting prejudice based on gender and gender identity; and (2) hate crimes committed by and against juveniles.
Declares that nothing in this Act shall be construed to prohibit the exercise of constitutionally-protected free speech.

I have no problem with people who say the federal government should not be taking on local prosecution of hate crimes, but the heated rhetoric from the right - and the suggestion that anyone who supports the bill is in favor of child rapists - is just plain absurd and not at all charitable.

JOBS_frend

Merry Christmas! I wish you a lot of gifts and luck in the new year.

school_dubl

Happy New Year! The author write more I liked it.

Realestate

Interesting site, always a new topic .. good luck in the new 2011. Happy New Year!

The comments to this entry are closed.

My Photo

United Methodist Blogroll

Blog powered by Typepad