Sunday, February 05, 2006

What Is a "Hate Crime"?

We questioned the whole concept of "hate crimes" in our previous posting on the violent teenage thug who attacked men in a homosexual bar in New Bedford a few days ago. So now this demented character has killed a policeman and a woman.

Were these murders "hate crimes"? Was the killer motivated by some special animus against police or women? How will we know? If not "hate crimes", do they deserve lesser punishments than if the victims were homosexuals?

Update, 2-5-06 afternoon: Suspect in Bar Attack Dies After Shootout. Now we'll never know whether his murder of the policeman and woman were "hate crimes"!