Hate Crimes
July 29th, 2008
There’s some good discussion over at SayUncle about whether or not it’s justifiable to classify “hate crimes” as a separate class of crimes over and above just ordinary assault/murder/vandalism/whatever. Go check it out.
Many of the libertarian types object that it’s a slippery slope from “hate crimes” to “thought crimes,” to which Xrlq responds:
One point is clear, though: all the crap about “thought crimes” and Big Brother determining intent is just that, crap. Intent is the sine qua non of criminal law. We don’t throw people in prison for inadvertently walking off with other people’s stuff, only for doing so intentionally. Nor do we charge someone for murder simply because their negligence caused someone else’s death; we have tort law for that. Should football abolish penalties for intentional grounding? Hell, as the cliché goes, even a dog can tell the difference between being stumbled over and being kicked. So of course the government must look at intent; the question is which intents to single out for worse punishment, and why.
(Personally, I think he’s just doing this to wig me out — he knows it always gives me pause when he and I agree on anything.)
UPDATE: LarryE weighs in.
Categories: Legal Issues, Libertarian Problem Solving | 19 Comments
