Penn. Hate Crime Law Struck Down

[ccharles000]

(Philadelphia, Penn.) The Pennsylvania Supreme Court upheld a lower court decision striking down amendments that added sexual orientation, gender identity, ancestry, gender, and mental and physical disability to the state hate crime law.

The law, known as the Ethnic Intimidation and Institutional Vandalism Act, was amended in 2002 to include protections for these groups by a two-thirds majority of the state legislature. Then-governor Mark Schweiker signed it into law.

The lower court ruled last November that the law was invalid because it had been tacked onto another, nonrelated bill. The ruling did not criticize the content of the law, only the way in which it had been passed.

http://www.365gay.com/news/penn-hate-crime-law-struck-down/

[marmar]

1. Wow. Going backward at warp speed.....

:argh:

[Karl_Bonner_1982]

2. Then it can be passed separately

As long as its passage doesn't depend on its rider status, it should be just fine. Hate crime laws are popular enough that they can usually pass on their own accord, unless there's a particularly strong RelRight influence in the legislature.

[dsc]

3. That overreacing DA in Philly is what led to this

We have to be careful using these laws when we get them passed. Using it against those women who were legally protesting Pride was just plain stupid and now it has bitten us in the ass.

[summer borealis]

4. This shitcan state that invented political corruption

and takes it to a higher level every day, just basks in stupidity and all the hate it fosters.

[glowing]

5. I am personally against any hate crime bills. I believe that crime is hateful

anyways... people shouldn't willfully hurt one another. If they do, they go to jail and/ or are sued by the person who was inflicted with a crime. Passing this legislation is not going to make anyone who is willing to do violence to any person to NOT do it. The threat of jail really doesn't stop crime, otherwise, 1 out of 100 people living in the USA would not be incarcerated. Now, if the crime was related in hateful intent, I would make the person who commited the crime receive rehabilitation and/ or depending on the person's stability.. a probation which makes the person who "hated" work with a group that they "hated" on.. to open their eyes.

Jail sentencing does not stop crime. Education stops crime. Acceptance stops crime. Forgivness and love stops crime. Community involvment and stability stops crimes.

[Karl_Bonner_1982]

8. I, too, wish we didn't need these laws

But the fact of the matter is that crimes based on cultural bigotry have the effect of intimidation and social repression, much the same way that the possibility of terrorism or police brutality can serve as a stifling threat to people's free expressions and actions.

[glowing]

9. Its just another dividing border.. a barrier.. a wall... we need to build bridges..

not walls.

[Creideiki]

10. Why do you love the terrorists?

You're supporting their actions against an entire community.

I'm shocked! Shocked, I say, to see this happen at DU. :sarcasm:

Seriously, there are differences between actions against an individual and those against a community. That, or there should be provisions that if someone does some kind of gay bashing crime, they should take the total number of people "x" in the state that are gay and charge them with 1 count of the action and x counts of criminal misconduct.

Either that, or start acting to get the differences between manslaughter (accidental death caused by neglect rather than hate--wow! not every crime is motivated by hate, is it?), and the different degrees of murder eradicated. Then if someone causes a death accidentally, we can try them as if they premeditated and intended to harm the individual deliberately.

I'll give one other option: Start requiring logic classes before someone can graduate. Tired of stupid people, already.

[Historic NY]

6. Didn't help the Mexican that was beaten to death last week.

They don't know what hate is in Pa. I would want to have one of those funny sounding sirnames.


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25739051/

[TechBear_Seattle]

7. Many states have such technicalities

All laws and initiatives in Washington State may contain one and only one subject. That requirement is actually written into the state constitution, and is designed to prevent the nonsense we see all the time in Congress, where dozens of unrelated pork riders are attached to a vitally necessary spending bill.

It is unfortunate that this hate crime law fell victim to this technicality, but if it passed so overwhelmingly last time, it should pass again.