Moving the Discussion Forward

* The hate crime bill outlaws thought.”
* “The hate crime bill outlaws speech.”
* “Does it make a difference what they were thinking?”
* “Assault and murder are already against the law. This is just an expansion of powers.”

It’s time for another one of those posts in which I take an argument that’s been getting repetitive (very repetitive) and put the whole thing in one place in the hopes of moving forward instead of arguing in parallel. In this case, we’ve been talking about hate-crime legislation, specifically the bills that have passed in the House and are under consideration in the Senate that would extend the existing definition of hate crimes to cover crimes motivated by the victim’s sexual orientation, gender identity or disability.

Read the rest and comment at Quiche Moraine.

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