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Hate crime laws essay
Is hate crime legislation effective
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Hate crime is one of the biggest issues many people face today. Whether or not they should be legislated against has been highly debated and continues to be a hot topic. This essay will explain the ideas and opinions of several authors including Charley Reese, Michael Lieberman, Helen Dodge, Gregory S. Parks, Shayne E. Jones and Samuel Francis. It will also elaborate on the topic of why hate crimes should be legislated against, with supporting information. The phrase “hate crime” is generally referred to as a criminal act against a person, a group, or property because of one’s race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation (Civil Rights- Hate Crimes- Overview). A person who experiences a hate crime may be threatened, harassed, physically harmed, or even killed. In order to ensure protection, laws have been established by society against those who commit hate crimes. There is a lot of debate among the general public about laws that should not punish people more harshly based on the motivation of their crime; instead, a criminal should only be punished for the crime committed. However, the motive behind a crime is often more significant than the crime itself. For example, if a black family moves into an area where the majority of the people are white and a group of white teenagers vandalize the property, they would be charged with vandalism. However, if after vandalizing the property they spray paint the word “nigger” on the garage door, they would most likely be found guilty of some sort of racial hate crime involving vandalism. While both of these actions are considered crimes, the motive behind the racial crime should be taken into consideration when the punishment is issued. One might say that the motive was ... ... middle of paper ... ...on | Education Book Publishing | Academic Textbooks. Web. . “Hate Crime” Laws Change the Law (Francis 141 & 142) Keyes, Jere. "Hate Crime Legislation: An Essay | Blind Prophecy." Blind Prophecy | Jere Keys Online. 11 Feb. 2009. Web. 26 Apr. 2011. . "About Hate Crimes." Homepage. Web. 26 Apr. 2011. . "State Hate Crimes Laws." Human Rights Campaign. 1 June 2009. Web. 26 Apr. 2011. "List of Hate Crime Laws." Homepage. Web. 26 Apr. 2011. . "Declaration of Independence." National Archives and Records Administration. Web. 26 Apr. 2011. .
Alston, Alex A. and James Dickerson. Devil’s Sanctuary: An Eyewitness History of Mississippi Hate Crimes. Chicago: Lawrence Hill Books. 2009.
"Hate-Crime Laws." Issues & Controversies On File: n. pag. Issues & Controversies. Facts On File News
economic or social success some minorities have attained may result in increased feelings of resentment by members of the larger population. As Levin & McDevitt (1993:48) argue, resentment can be found to some extent in the personality of most hate crime offenders. It may be directed toward a part...
Hate crimes are done too frequently in the United States. Although we have laws that supposedly regulate them, many people still feel the need to commit acts of violence on people that are different than them. Many of these crimes originate with some sort of hate speech. People get ideas from other people, passed down from previous generations.
Jacobs, James B. and Kimberly A. Potter "Hate Crimes: A Critical Perspective," Crime and Justice: A Review of Research, Ed. Michael Tonry (University of Chicago Press: Chicago, 1997).
Hurd, Heidi M. (2001). Why liberals should hate ``hate crime legislation''. Law and Philosophy 20 (2):215 - 232.
The punishment of a crime should not be determined by the motivation for the crime, yet that is exactly what hate crime legislation does. It places emphasis on a crime for the wrong reasons. Hate crimes victimize more than just the victims, and this is why the punishments are more severe, but Sullivan argues that any crime victimizes more than the victims. He suggests that random crimes with no prejudice in place can be perceived as something even more frightening, as the entire community feels threatened instead of just a group. Proven in Sullivan’s article is the worthlessness of the “hate” label. I would agree that it only serves to further discriminate, instead of achieving the peace and equality that it pretends to stand
The fact that hate crimes still occur in America is another signpost that tolerance is still an unheard of notion to a lot of people. In 2007 the Federal Bureau of Investigation released statistics showing that 2,105 law enforcement agencies reported 9,080 offences of hate crime. This includes vandalism, intimidation, simple and aggravated assault, and murder. This also includes not only race statistics, but religious, sexual orientation, ethnicity, and disability motivated crimes. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission released statistics of discrimination charges for the same year with all ...
Grattet R, Jenness V. “Transforming Symbolic Law into Organizational Action: Hate Crime Policy and Law Enforcement Practice”. Social Forces. Available from: Business Source Complete, Ipswich, MA. September 2008;87(1):501-527. Accessed April 1, 2014.
...ce about committing a crime. But lawmakers failed to see that this is the point of any law. Look at how much crime this country has. That is part of the reason why many states reinstated the death penalty—because people were supposed to think twice about committing crimes. Obviously, these laws are not doing their job. The government reported 97 executions this year alone, up from 68 in 1998 and 74 executions in 1997 (Johnson 1). Officials should rethink their strategies. If laws already exist for a certain crime, regardless of whether or not it is a hate crime, then those laws should be used. Laws should not be changed to fit individual situations.
...on, and Gendering of Federal Hate Crime Law in the U.S., 1985-1998.” University of California Press on behalf of the Society for the Study of Social Problems. 46: 548-571.
A hate crime is a crime, usually involving violence or intimidation committed against others based partially or entirely on race, ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation or membership in another social group.
Today we have looked at the problem known as hate crimes and the varied causes which keep it in existence. We have also discussed some solutions to this act of hate.
There are many who believe hate crime should be punished more severely since it ‘’has the potential to cause greater harm.’’ (Hate Crime Laws, 2014) Hate crimes, like racial discrimination, have unfortunately been a part of this country for centuries, racial discrimination was rampant in the 19th and 20th century, but mostly in the south; many segregation laws were created at the time ‘’that banned African Americans from voting, attending certain schools, and using public accommodations. ’’ (Hate Crime Laws, 2014)
Deviance. (1998). In Robert D. Benford Macmillan Compendium: Social Issues ().New York: Macmillan Library Reference USA. 20 May 2010, Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center via Gale: