From: Bill Kendall
Seymour
If we watch any television at all, we’ve seen the news media exacerbate the idea that "hate crime" legislation is imperative. I must ask, "What is the big emergency?" Does this mean that is this doesn’t pass it will nullify the laws already on the books? No!
Those existing laws were set up originally for equal justice for all. Why do special interest groups feel they deserve deferential treatment? Why does Gov. Eric Holcomb and the corporate CEOs feel like if this doesn’t pass the world will end? Could it be political posturing? I believe so.
Let’s touch on two issues. No one seems to talk about the No. 1: the cost of housing inmates with basics (food, clothing). Runs about $44,000 per year per inmate. Hate crime legislation is designed to add sentence time and to discourage "hateful" behavior. Does it work? Ask another state that has hate crime laws. What it will do is add more cost to an already overburdened penal system. As a side note, about 25 percent, or one-fourth, of the entire global prison population is in the United States.
Secondly, and probably most important, is the social divide this is causing our once-great nation as a whole. Instead of the United States we’ve become the Divided States of America — "A nation divided cannot stand." When society breaks down, as it seems to be, a nation breaks down, and then it literally becomes hell on earth. We’ve all seen it in other countries, and whether one wants to believe it or not, this country is headed in that direction.
Wake up, America! What about our kids and grandkids? What are we learning for them?
