There are 51 articles on this title. You are reading the article ranked and rated #15 by Helium's members.
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| 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.
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