Essay: Nature of hate crime laws

Sample Essay

According to Cockburn Alexander, hate crime laws create a situation where crimes will only be thought of and establish victims that are only there for disparate attention (Cockburn, 2009, p. 11). He argues that this will only lead to abuse of equality. He gives an example by asking whether it will be easy to determine whether a prostitute was murdered because of her gender or just because she refused to surrender her purse to a thug (23). By so saying, Cockburn speculates that these laws on hate crimes are only there to give some political mileage to some politicians who pretend to be advocating for rights of some groups. He therefore sees the hate crime laws as useless and dangerous destined to introduce inequality in application of the law.

Application of the existing laws is the most reliable step that federal authorities should focus on to deliver justice. He further sites the recent statements by the national coalition concerned with antiviolence projects. The group is quoted saying that they oppose toughening sentences given to hate crime offenders, saying the structures in place to determine the exact nature of the crime are faulted (Cockburn, 2009, p. 31). Cockburn further argues that these laws will result in limitations in the freedom of speech and thought because the chances of broad interpretations are high. Legislators failed in creating these laws as a person will not be free to give his or her opinion on certain issue simply because a thought against is criminalized (32).

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