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I saw on the news tonight that students at Kent State University are protesting the lack of hate crime legislation in Ohio. Appearantly, a gay guy was beat up for being gay, and they think that more laws will solve the problem. I don't think so. I think that it is terrible that someone was beat up for their beliefs, but you also should not punish somebody for their beliefs. The culprit will be punished for beating somebody up, and they should be punished. I believe however that when you punish somebody for their beliefs, no matter how ridiculous or evil, that you are coming very close to the likes of a totalitarian state. I don't agree with the concept of homosexuality, but I would never beat somebody up because they are gay. In fact, I don't like hitting people for any reason. There are, however, some people who need to be taught some manners out there. They need to learn that hurting people that they hate turns them into a martyr. That is the last thing that you need is for somebody that stands for something that you hate to become a martyr. They are held up on a pedistal and people revere them even though in many cases they don't deserve it. There were many times when I wished that somebody would shoot Bill Clinton while he was in office, but I knew that if he was then he would become a martyr and be honored like Kennedy. People are entitled to their beliefs no matter how ignorant. That is one of the fundamental rights and reasons for the first amendment. These people who hurt others because of their beliefs are terrible people, but we can't extend their punishment because they believe in a different way. The ads aired during the 2000 presidential campaigns made it look like then Governor Bush let the killers of a black man walk free because there was no hate crime legislation in Texas. That simply is not true. Most of the people involved got the death penalty. How much more of a punishment do you want to give them? Do you want to drag them through the streets as well? They received the ultimate punishment, and there is no way to worsen it. We cannot punish people for ignorant beliefs or we will damage the fabric of the Bill of Rights. |
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