Obama signs hate crimes bill
October 29th, 2009From AP, CNN (with video), the Washington Post and elsewhere. Transcript from the White House blog:
President Obama signed hate crime legislation Wednesday that extends protections to people based on gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and disability. From the transcript of the President’s remarks:
No one in America should be forced to look over their shoulder because of who they are or because they live with a disability.
At root, this isn’t just about our laws; this is about who we are as a people. This is about whether we value one another — whether we embrace our differences, rather than allowing them to become a source of animus.
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November 2nd, 2009 at 11:50 pm
I am torn on this one. On one hand, if someone hurt my daughter with Down syndrome because she has a disability, I would be furious and glad this is in place. But if someone hurt my other daughter or son (with no disability) in the same manner, but was determined not to be a “hate crime”, does that offense deserve to be lesser? For instance, if it deals with murder, isn’t murder, well, MURDER? The same protection should be to all. The same crime should yield harsh punishment anyway.