New at Reason: Steve Chapman on the Empty Symbolism of Hate Crimes Legislation

May 11, 2009

The logic of the Matthew Shepard Act is hard to follow. According to sponsoring Sen. Ted Kennedy, "No members of society—none—deserve to be victims of a violent crime because of their race, their religion, their ethnic background, their disability, their gender, their gender identity, or their sexual orientation." But as Steve Chapman writes, who exactly does deserve to be the victim of a violent crime? Moreover, Chapman continues, the bill targets actions we would all like to eliminate—physically injuring or trying to injure someone with "fire, a firearm, a dangerous weapon, or an explosive or incendiary device." But it's hard to imagine that it would reduce the prevalence of such conduct, which is already 1) really, really illegal and 2) subject to harsh penalties.

Read all about it here.