I hate "hate crime" laws

One of the stupidest and most nakedly political laws passed over the years has been the so-called "hate crimes" laws. We've seen recently where a nutjob hick from Arkansas (no, not the prior president) went on a violent gun-and-hatchet spree in a gay bar in Massachusetts. After going on the lam, he finally got caught and shot dead...but only after he killed his ex-girlfriend and a police officer. Now, this evil cretin is undoubtedly rotting in Hell, as well he should be.

Headline? "Hate-Crime Suspect Dies in Gunbattle."

Did this son of a bitch have "hate" in his heart? Of course he did. However, are we to infer that had his victims been heterosexual white guys like him and had been targeted for their money, the crime would have been less severe?

Basically, the "hate crimes" laws criminalize thought. A criminal trial, had the f###er lived to see one, would have focused more on his thinking rather than his actions. That's just wrong.

When James Byrd (a black man) was dragged to his death by a few bigoted rednecks on a rural county road in Texas, then-Gov. George W. Bush did not hesitate in condemning and refusing to intervene on behalf of the racist bastards. Two were sentenced to death, and the other was given life without parole for turning state's evidence.

However, the NAACP shamelessly ran commercials with James Byrd's daughter saying that Bush's refusal to sign the TX "hate crimes" bill into law was like "my daddy was killed all over again"! Had the law been signed, would the punishment (i.e. death) have been any different? Would they have killed the bastards, then hooked them up and killed them again? Being killed twice seems a bit redundant and anti-climactic, doesn't it?

Boortz has a chilling thought:

As things stand now, you can only be tried if your "hate" is translated into some sort of a criminal action against another person or against property. How big a leap would it be to punish you for the hate even if you don't commit a crime as a result of your feelings? How long before your hate becomes the crime? Believe me, in this age of leftist-inspired political correctness there are plenty of liberals and their ilk who would dearly love to see just such a concept become reality.