Thanks JA Ruth
> > WASHINGTON, DC -- African-Americans who thought that
hate crime
> > laws would protect them against rampaging white racists
are in for a
> > shock: A new FBI study reveals that blacks are
proportionally one-and-
> > a-half times more likely to be arrested for hate crimes
against whites
> > than vice versa.
> >
> > "This new hate crime study is Jesse Jackson's
worst nightmare,"
> > said Steve Dasbach, Libertarian Party national
director. "It appears
> > that he and other African-American leaders have been
duped into
> > crusading for laws that have condemned a
disproportionate number of
> > blacks to prison.
> >
> > "In light of this study, it's fair to ask who
poses a greater
> > threat to the black community: Racist, violent whites
-- or oblivious
> > black politicians?"
> >
> > The hate-crime issue was thrust back into the national
> > spotlight on Tuesday when the FBI released its
"Hate Crime Statistics"
> > report for 1999, which is part of the agency's annual
Uniform Crime
> > Report.
> >
> > Law enforcement agencies nationwide reported that 2,030
whites
> > were arrested for hate crimes against blacks, while 524
African-
> > Americans were arrested for such crimes against whites.
> >
> > Adjusting for the fact that blacks make up only 13% of
the
> > population, blacks were statistically one-and-a-half
times more likely
> > than whites to face prosecution for hate crimes.
> >
> > "Unfortunately, hate crime laws have boomeranged
on blacks,"
> > said Dasbach. "African-Americans thought that hate
crime legislation
> > would protect them, but instead they're being used as
another legal
> > weapon to prosecute them.
> >
> > "And though Americans may assume that politicians
who write
> > such laws are well-intended, it's obvious that for
blacks, the road to
> > prison is paved with good intentions."
> >
> > The study also revealed that, shockingly, 87
African-Americans
> > were arrested in 1999 for hate crimes against other
blacks, meaning
> > that even among same-race crimes, some minorities face
heightened jail
> > terms because of hate crime laws.
> >
> > "Hate crimes aren't just for KKK members
anymore," said
> > Dasbach. "They are now being applied even to
same-race crimes --
> > apparently giving racist police, prosecutors, or judges
another weapon
> > to use against African-Americans."
> >
> > The solution to this disproportionate application of
hate crime
> > laws is simple, said Dasbach: Eliminate hate crime
laws.
> >
> > "Racist criminals, whether white or black, should
be punished
> > for their crimes, but hate crime laws aren't needed to
do that," he
> > said.
> >
> > "Murder is murder and assault is assault --
regardless of
> > whether the criminal was motivated by racist hate,
generic hate, or
> > pure greed, lust, or envy. People should be prosecuted
for their
> > actions, not for their opinions."
> >
> > Such a straightforward system of punishing criminals
for their
> > crimes, not their thoughts, would make the criminal
justice system more
> > fair, more simple, and more effective, said Dasbach.
> >
> > "Real crimes -- like rape, murder, and robbery --
don't require
> > police to play a guessing game to determine whether
they actually
> > occurred, but 'thought crimes' do," he said.
"For example, how is a
> > police officer supposed to determine whether a
hypothetical black
> > criminal chose a robbery victim because he was rich,
because he was
> > white, or because he was rich and white? And why should
it make a
> > difference? People should be prosecuted for their
actions, not for
> > their opinions."
> >
> > The bottom line is that crimes against a certain
protected
> > class of citizens should not be treated more seriously
than crimes
> > against anyone else, said Dasbach.
> >
> > "To do so is un-American, and a violation of equal
justice
> > under the law," he said. "It also creates the
ironic situation we now
> > face: Laws that were supposed to stop racism apparently
have racist
> > consequences -- making hate crime laws themselves a
hate crime against
> > African-Americans."
>
> >
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> > The Libertarian Party http://www.lp.org/
> > 2600 Virginia Ave. NW, Suite 100 voice: 202-333-0008
> > Washington DC 20037 fax: 202-333-0072
> >
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