“Hate crimes laws treat crimes and their victims unequally.
#Iowa man sentaced to 16 years for burning gay pride flag free
Free countries don’t criminalize beliefs or thoughts.”Ĭox said hate crimes laws promote unequal justice. These investigations stray into thought-policing and end up punishing criminals for what they believe in addition to what they did. People ask questions about his religious beliefs or his friends and associates. When police investigate a possible hate crime, questions come up about what the suspect wrote or said. “Hate crimes laws give the government the power to punish thoughts as well as actions. Passing a hate crimes law isn’t going to do anything here.”Ĭox said besides being ineffective, hate crimes laws give government the power to punish speech and beliefs. Arkansas, on the other hand, has some of the fewest hate crimes of any state in America. Every one of these states has a hate crimes law. According to the FBI, the five states with the highest number of hate crimes in 2018 were Washington, New Jersey, New York, Texas, and Michigan. The FBI tracks hate crimes committed nationwide. New Jersey has a hate crimes law like the one the governor is proposing, but it didn’t stop anti-Semitic violence from happening in that state last week. In response, Family Council President Jerry Cox released a statement, saying, “Hate crimes laws don’t work. On Tuesday Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson released a statement renewing calls for Arkansas to pass hate crimes legislation. Updated 2:50 PM December 20, 2019: Other news outlets indicate the man’s prior offenses may have played a role in his enhanced sentence as well.
They also fail to guarantee everyone equal protection under the law.Īll of this simply goes to show why Arkansas does not need a hate crimes law. Hate crimes laws encourage courts to punish criminals for their beliefs rather than simply for their actions. Stories like these underscore how hate crimes laws create unequal penalties for crimes. The sentence for those crimes likely would be a year or two in jail - not 16.
He might have been charged with theft, reckless use of fire, or even harassment, but not a hate crime. If this man had stolen and burned an American flag, he would not have been convicted of a hate crime, and he probably would not have been sentenced to 16 years in jail. The Washington Times reports that an Iowa man who stole an LGBT flag from a church and set the flag on fire has been sentenced to 16 years in jail.įifteen years of that sentence are due to the fact that prosecutors deemed stealing and burning a gay pride flag as a hate crime.