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Social Values & Norms

Should hanging a noose in public be considered a hate crime?

Results so far:

Yes
57% 208 votes Total: 368 votes
No
43% 160 votes

Absolutely Not, unless we are going to outlaw flag burning as well. The answer to this will most likely be determined in either a state Supreme Court or the US Supreme Court.

However, one need only look to the early days of this country and a very divisive statute passed by congress called the sedition law. This particular piece of legislation made it a prosecutable crime to speak out against our government in contravention of the first amendment. Several newspaper publishers were charged and tried and even convicted before this law was stricken from the records.
Accordingly, "Hate Crimes", and any legislation involving such, carry to the heart of the "intent" of the act. Intent is something very hard to prove in a criminal proceeding. Thats why there are divisions in the many statutes. Additionally, there are other laws on the books that could be used to limit this type of activity. One could argue that by hanging a noose the perpetrator was attempting to "Incite a riot" for instance.
Actions like this are in poor taste, at best Ignorant and at worst just plain stupidity. However, unless directed at a specific person, in a specific manner, it is just that, stupidity. Lastly, it follows that if a person were to enact legislation designating an act as a "hate crime", whats next, complete abandonment of the First Amendment?
At the end of the day, there are local and federal statutes that apply should the action of hanging a noose be directed at a specific target instead of out in the open. Additionally, should one be able to show that they were in some way harmed by this action, actions in civil court for compensatory damages would seem to me to be a better way to get the point across.
In closing, Our Constitution guarantees us the right to freedom of expression and there are numerous precedents through the legal system recognizing this right. Making it a federal crime to hang noose as a "Hate Crime" would seem to me to violate that very amendment.

Learn more about this author, Larry Head.
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Below are the top articles rated and ranked by Helium members on:

Should hanging a noose in public be considered a hate crime?

No
  • 1 of 27

    by Dan Weaver

    Currently, it is not a crime in New York State to display a hangmans noose, but proposed legislation, already passed ...read more

  • 2 of 27

    by Duane Kuehn

    Some people seem to love an environment of hatreds. They just cannot stop finding new ways to express how hatful oth...read more

Yes
  • 1 of 24

    by robertsloan2

    Let's look at the context of the noose for whether it's a hate crime. I'm familiar with the recent case in Louisiana ...read more

  • 2 of 24

    by Penny Sky

    Of course hanging a noose in a public place is a hate crime! No one would place a noose in a public place, for any o...read more

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