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Lincoln
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It seems to me that the trend in Canada now (and the US will no doubt follow) is that whoever screams the loudest gets to be more equal. Old people are abused everyday but they usually are ignored because they are too weak to defend themselves. They deserve protection even though they do not demonstrate in the streets for special rights. Everyone however weak or unorganized or politically inactive they may be deserves equal protection under the law. Not just the loud mouths.
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Lincoln
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quote:
Originally posted by notyoueither
Have you ever heard of someone inciting violence against the aged?
That is what our hate laws are intended to head off. Extreme cases of 'loud mouths' who are saying and writing things that are likely to result in others taking up the fight against some minortiy group or other. |
Yes, I am sure that the intention was honorable. The problem is that the concept is flawed legally because any group can claim that they are being abused and deserving of special protection. That is why equal protection under the law is the best way to protect everyone. And yes, I have heard of people who desire old people to be killed at a certain age or degree of infirmity.
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Lincoln
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Off to bed. Night all...
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Ben Kenobi
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McGregornobi!
Oct 2002
time: 21:30
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http://canada.com/national/story.as...A8-251FF13E3CC1
Two for two.
OTTAWA (CP) - MPs voted 141-110 on Wednesday in favour of a bill to extend hate-crimes protection to gays and lesbians.
Bill C-250, a private member's bill introduced by New Democrat MP Svend Robinson, would amend the hate propaganda section of the Criminal Code to add homosexuals to a list of groups legally protected from incitement of hatred and genocide.
The hate propaganda law, passed in 1970, bans incitement of hatred on the basis of colour, race, religion and ethnic origin, but not "sexual orientation."
Gays have long protested the omission, citing the fact that homosexuals are frequently targeted for verbal and physical attacks.
The law carries a penalty of up to five years in prison.
The bill passed Wednesday still requires Senate approval and royal assent before becoming law.
It was the second contentious vote in two days on gay rights. On Tuesday, MPs narrowly defeated a motion to maintain the traditional definition of marriage - an attempt by the Canadian Alliance to scuttle the government's plan to allow same-sex unions.
The Alliance and many church groups say they fear that extending hate-crime protection for gays could criminalize religious texts, including the Bible, that condemn homosexuality.
Not so, said Liberal MP Derek Lee. He pushed for a change to the bill that unanimously passed in the Commons three months ago. The amended bill exempts from the hate crime section anyone expressing an anti-gay belief based on a religious text.
That change removed a handy excuse for those who would unjustly refuse equal protections to homosexuals, Robinson said.
"What this bill is about, fundamentally, is sending a message to the gay bashers. It's about sending a message to those who promote hatred and violence and death of gay men like Aaron Webster who was beaten to death with a baseball bat in Vancouver."
Fears that freedom of speech and religion will suffer are unfounded, Robinson added.
"It's a mask for homophobia for people who don't want to be honest about the real reason why they don't want to include sexual orientation in the law."
Robinson said he regularly receives hateful e-mails and his constituency office in Burnaby, B.C. was trashed in 1988 when he became Canada's first openly gay MP.
Conservative MP Scott Brison, representing Kings-Hants in Nova Scotia, came out of the closet last winter. He too has been verbally threatened and physically attacked for being gay, he said.
Alliance MP Brian Pallister, representing Portage-Lisgar in Manitoba, voted against the bill. He resents being called "homophobic," and said he has fought for equal economic rights for gays in the past.
"It's unhelpful to label people just because they disagree with you."
Physically and mentally disabled Canadians, along with other identifiable groups, are also hate-crime victims but aren't specifically protected under the law, he said.
"Where do you draw the line?"
To suppress free speech only drives bigots and abusers underground, he said.
"You want those people out in the open," Pallister said, "Then they show how stupid they really are."
The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police and the Canadian Police Association, representing 28,000 front-line officers, support the bill.
Police have so far been powerless to prosecute the likes of Rev. Fred Phelps of Topeka, Kan. who runs a virulent anti-gay website.
Supporters of Phelps have entered Canada twice in recent years to stage anti-gay rallies.
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Boris Godunov
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Portland, OR
Aug 2001
time: 00:30
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quote:
Originally posted by Ben Kenobi
When was the last time a crime against a white person fell under the category of a 'hate' crime?
In theory, it ought to protect everyone equally. In practice, hate crimes only come into play when involving a minority group. |
Then the quibble is with the common practice of the law, not the law itself? I mean, the law itself is clearly all-encompassing and doesn't single out any particular group for special rights over another.
I know that in the U.S., prosecutors have gone after black people for racially-motivated crimes, albeit in less high-profile incidents than, say, James Byrd. A recent example was the Cincinnatti riots, after which the D.A. vowed to pursue hate crimes charges against such perpetrators.
So long as the law encompasses all people, I don't see why anything that adds to the potential punishment of a violent offender should be objectionable. If prosecutors aren't doing their job and going after certain groups of perpetrators, then they need to brought to task.
I also noted the religious exception for anti-gay speech. Seems the moralizing busy-bodies will be safe.
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18-09-2003 07:45
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