According to the article I read this morning... Congress dropped the current hate crimes bill that would include gays because it was clear the bill wouldn't pass the house. Well why not try. Nothing is a sure bet. If they tried to push it through the house it could have gone. It seems to me that is the dumbest thing I have ever heard. What? just b/c someone is gay they deserve less rights? That is what this says to me. It says to me that gays aren't as important....The 'educated' me has to sit back and ask why and then run down the possible list of reasons. Hubby and I were talking about it, and I guess it would be hard to prove someone attacked you because you were gay. They would have to prove they knew you were gay. But the heart in me says there are clear cases of gay hate crimes and I think it is worth it to try to push the bill through. I might be over anylizing this, but it's important to me. Equal rights are important to me.
Hate is Hate. If you were attacked... anyone...it should be a hate crime. I don't understand the bill itself. Under current legislation, it says you can't be attacked b/c of race, religion, color or national orgin. So what if you were attacked b/c you were wearing orange shoes...? Well the attacker hated your shoes ..so why not charge them with a hate crime. They could bash your head in, break your arms and legs b/c of your shoes, and that would be different than if they bashed your head in, broke your arms and legs because of the color of your skin. How is one worse than the other is all I am asking. Attacking someone is attacking someone. Maybe if the laws were stricter all the way around people would stop hurting each other. I don't know, I know we don't live in a perfect world, and I know that hate crimes exist...I just think attack crimes should be treated just as harsh. I hope you understand what I am saying. But we don't have statutes like that...so we have to go with the Hate Crimes Bill, and it pisses me off to no end that sexual orientation is not apart of that bill. So I guess if Dick Cheney's daughter was attack b/c she was gay...it would be treated as any other assault...I think not.
Lawmakers are such bitches!!!!
6 comments:
It's no harder to prove gay bashing as a hate crime when someone is beating you to death while calling you faggot, cocksucker and other names than when a black person is beaten and called nigger or a Mexican is beaten while being called a greaser. Congress is just a bunch of cowards as they think that their constituants want gay people to be beaten for their sin. I hope that this is not true.
Great post Ellie, Thanks for letting me know. I had been following this somewhat and its sad that this happened.
Though it would have been nice to have this attempted I think the logic is if they tried and failed it would be unlikely they would try again for some while. This may be on hold until next year with the hope that they will gain control of the senate sin the near future. They would then control both the senate and congress ensuing guarenteed speddy passage of the legislation. I liken it it here to what the liberals did with Same Sex marriage in Canada. They had wanted to do it much earlier, in the late 1990's but the support wasn't there and the legislation would have died . When tis occurs it takes even longer to get it back on paper since opponents would say "we already dealt with that" and force it off the agenda. I am now a gay married man. When the support was guaranteed it was reintroduced and pushed through.
Though its not much consolation for those who suffer because of the current actions, they can be relieved by the fact that they WILL get it for sure, just a little patience is required. Its best to do it right the first time and then spend even more years debating and trying again.
Its a shame that people's rights have to be determined by what others wish to allow but thats a shortcoming of our political systems here in North America. The majority determines how the minority gets treated, and its usually badly.
I think this is juts disgusting. Hate is hate, and it shouldn't matter who it is targeting. ANYTIME anybody attacks , slanders, is violent, etc etc to anyone, it should be dealt with.
Think back to what was done to Mathew Shepard or Brandon Teena, now if those weren't hate crimes then I don't know what is!
Jay thinks that when the Democrats get back in power in your country that this will change...I wonder what others think about that statement!
I don't think so. You would like to hope that all people thought that cival rights in this country were top on the agenda.
I think Democrats are just as full of crap as the Republicans are. Look at Cheney, his daughter is gay, and you would think that he would push for some change. Nope.
Democrats use the minority issues to get ahead in the poles, then they never come through.
The Governor of Maryland is a Democrat..promises promises...the asshole just raised state income tax, sales tax, property tax ($6 to $11 per $1000) gas tax, didn't delete the inheretance tax. He is making it so hard to live in Maryland. I think sometimes doing things like that is to drive out the poor so that only the rich are in your state.
Gay issues will be low on the agenda no matter what they promise. It makes me sick.
You have to look at where the $ comes from for campains and stuff... It isn't in the best interest of corporate america to give gays the same rights as anyone.
Have you guys ever thought of moving if things are getting so expensive in Maryland?
I remember you telling me that your mom is in Georgia...
relocating would suck anyway, with having 2 little ones, esp. if your jobs are in Maryland etc.
That is too bad you feel so taxed to death.
Naw, my mom is here, she is from Georgia...
Most my family is here. And Mikes entire family is here. Don't get me wrong.. I love Maryland.
just hate the fact that is a Dems state. I am not so pissed about the sales tax..most states are around the same, it is going from 5 to 6%... it isn't horrible. But the other stuff is ridiculous.
With the housing crisis in America, you would think they would leave the recordation tax alone.
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