[Jack Black]

Thanks. I just put a few recent news storys up with that question to spawn discussion, give the Jena 6 situation.

I guess my final take is that I don’t like “hate crime” laws because it is immaterial. Punish the action, not the imputed thougts behind them.

Whether or not they had a racist bone in their bodies, the killers still shot this little girl. In the end, that’s all the crime that we need to make it a tragedy and to describe their punishment.

Hate crime laws divdide us, because it requries the law to get into someone’s brain. And we can’t do that, opinions and views always differ.

[pepperdog]

Great comments! Particularly the last paragraph. Identifying a crime as a “hate crime” is a terrible thing, it raises some terrible crimes above other crimes that are EQUALLY terrible and as you said, it requires mind reading on the part of the law.

[Sterlis]

By it’s very definition ALL violent crimes are “Hate” crimes. Love does not produce crime (excluding crimes of passion).

Just a thought...