Tucked into the Defense Authorization Bill passed this afternoon in the Senate comes a piece of legislation that has been winding its way through the legislative process for years.I believe people should be punished according to their actions, not their motivations. If they kill somebody, we have laws against murder. If they assault somebody there are laws against that. What these thought crimes bills do is add additional punishment according to what they perceive the bad guy was thinking at the time he committed the crime. Since no one can no for sure what's on someone's mind, how can you prove a thought crime beyond a reasonable doubt?
My colleague on Capitol Hill Z. Byron Wolf reports:
Included in the Defense Authorization bill that the Senate just passed by a vote of 68-29 is the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Bill -- named in memory of the man beaten to death in Laramie, Wyoming in 1988.
Democrats were unable to pass the bill in 2007 when they controlled both houses of Congress; President Bush had threatened a veto.
It now goes to the President’s desk and President Obama will surely sign it.
Of course, this opens the door to making the the thoughts themselves crimes, even if they're not accompanied by actions. We've already seen the move to make conservative thought unacceptable in political discourse, how long until it becomes illegal?
If you express a politically incorrect thought about gay "rights" but do no actual harm against any person, will that be enough for prosecution?
Stand by.
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1 comment:
Doesn't it make you wonder what these people are going to do when they stand before the Lord, who can read their thoughts, and will judge accordingly?
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