Sens. Sessions, Durbin show ignorance about hate crimes law during testimony by AG Holder

[ccharles000]

Remember, it's already a federal crime to attack someone because of their race, creed or color, but two men elected to the U.S. Senate responded in an ignorant fashion during the testimony of U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder today, right out of the wingnut playbook, and one, sadly, is a Democrat. (AP):

Republicans at the hearing questioned whether the change would expand federal power unnecessarily into cases already being prosecuted by state and local officials. They also questioned why certain victims of violence should be singled out for particular types of protection.
"That's part of the problem. Some are protected groups and get special protection under this law," said Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala. "You argued your case. I've listened to it and I'm not persuaded."

...About half of all hate crimes are motivated by racial bias. The other two most frequent hate crimes are those motivated by religion or sexual orientation. Holder said the statistics show hate crimes against Hispanics have increased four years in a row.

Sessions and a Democratic lawmaker, Sen. Richard Durbin of Illinois, both voiced concerns that the bill could be used to prosecute a church leader who speaks out against homosexuality, if a member of their congregation then assaults a gay person.

"This is a bill to hold people accountable for conduct, not for speech," Holder insisted.

Now if the Senators would like to roll back the entire federal law for hate crimes, that would at least be intellectually honest. Even Matt "Bam Bam" Barber has realized that it's the only consistent way to deal with "the problem" as he sees it rather than attempt to justify not expanding the law to include protected classes he detests.
A document by the ACLU that has been out there for a good long while dispels the notion that free speech is affected. Perhaps these Senators need a copy in their hands. See it below the fold.


http://www.pamshouseblend.com/diary/11709/sens-sessions-durbin-show-ignorance-about-hate-crimes-law-during-testimony-by-ag-holder