Hate Crimes, How to deal?

With the ever increasing issue of hate crimes, legislators are working to pass new hate-crime legislation that would "expand federal jurisdiction from crimes motivated by the victim's race, color, religion, or national origin to include the victim's gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, and disability". The new law would also require all hate-crime cases to become the business of the federal government rather than state courts. David Rittgers argues against this new legislation with two main points. First he states that crimes involving racist, homophobic, and anti-Semitic acts along with many other crimes of this sort are already dealt with using the highest levels of punishment, while being viewed as true atrocities. Thus he argues that the new law is not needed due to the fact that these crimes are already given the needed attention. Secondly he points out that many people who commit hate crimes due such things in order to be viewed by their peers as a mortar. Therefore, by prosecuting them differently for their ideology is giving them exactly what they want and encourages their followers to copy their actions. Rittgers wants his audience to see the danger in letting this legislation pass. This article is published in The Christian Science Monitor , which means it is appealing to people that uphold themselves to Christian values and that consider themselves religious people. So, Rittgers is saying to them specifically, that this new law will possibly endanger their religious life, because it could encourage a hate crime against Christians. Rittgers gains credibility by giving recent examples of hate crimes in the US and how they were prosecuted. His gives a sound argument by leading the reader to a logical conclusion that his position on the topic is just. I have to agree with what the author states. I think that this legislation will only encourage like minded people of these so called mortars to commit similar crimes.

Rittger, David. "Hate-Crime Legislation Would Backfire". The Christian Science Monitor. July 10
2009.