I spent another lonely night, watching television. I finished watching an MTV special, “Anatomy of a Hate Crime,” which described the story of Matthew Sheppard who was brutally murdered in Wyoming nearly three years ago because of his sexual orientation.
Sheppard’s story is one an unhappy young man trapped in a world that he felt did not understood or accepted him.
Crimes, like this one are always accompanied by cries of “why” and followed by “legislate.” The result is the fight to expand the federal hate crime bill.
The current statute does not protect persons on the basis of sexual orientation, gender or disability. Many groups feel that this needs to change.
MTV is dedicating the whole year to raising of awareness of discrimination. They are also using their station as a way to lobby for the expansion of the hate crime bill.
I have mixed feelings about this idea. Crimes motivated out of irrational hate reflect everything that is evil, sickening and loathsome about humanity.
Even still, should a person who kills out of hate be given preferential treatment over one who kills out of greed? Is the premeditated murder of a homosexual worse than that of the premeditated murder of a heterosexual?
Proponents of the law say that hate crimes affect everyone and that the law would protect us all. If this were true, then the premeditated murder of any person would be equal in the eyes of the law (as it is now). Therefore, we merely are putting our consciences at ease by paying lip service to a severe problem of the culture and institutions of our country. Will we sleep better knowing we are now punishing people not only for what they do, but how they think?
MTV went “off the air” for 17 hours to show reports on hate crime victims. They kept pasting a slogan on the screen ala 1984 saying “Hate Crimes Begin with Discrimination.” Complete the thought and it is frightening. Where does discrimination begin? With hate. Where does hate begin? In the mind.
Proponents of the bill would say that hate crimes are not the same as ordinary crimes. If this is true, what we are punishing is thought. That is a dangerous precedent, for how long will it be until any profession of belief is punishable by law, if it is perceived as threatening?
I applaud MTV for its attempt to raise awareness about the rampant irrational hate on all sides of the issue. Yet, as I think about Matthew Sheppard and how terrible, tragic and evil the crimes against him were, I know that this bill is not the answer.
Are we willing to give up our freedom to express ourselves for a solution that will not fix the problem? In order for any speech to be free, all speech must be free. As S.G. Tallentyre once said, “I (may) disapprove of what you say, but I will defend

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