Thursday, October 29, 2009

Obama Signs Hate Crimes Law

Yesterday, President Obama signed the Matthew Shepard and James Bird Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.

At best, it's a feel-good law that will accomplish nothing.

At worst, it will undermine the division of powers between the states and the national government by federalizing a wide range of violent crimes, further erode the constitutional ban on double jeopardy by inviting serial prosecutions for the same offense, and impinge on freedom of conscience, freedom of speech, freedom of association, and freedom of religion. The threat to First Amendment rights is twofold: 1) Like other hate crime statutes, the law imposes extra punishment based on defendants' beliefs, and 2) it could be used as an excuse to investigate and/or prosecute people for aiding and abetting hate crimes through provocative speech, including pastors and other people of faith who believe that homosexuality is a sin.

1 comments:

Anonymous,  October 29, 2009 at 7:12 PM  

This will get ugly.

About This Blog

This blog is about my opinions and world view.  I am a conservative, evangelical Christian.  Generally speaking, if you post a comment, I'll allow you to express your view.  However, if you say something hateful, untruthful, or just generally something I don't like, I may remove it.

  © Blogger templates The Professional Template by Ourblogtemplates.com 2008

Back to TOP