Some of us who have a passing understanding of the law get asked why Congress creates specific h*te crimes. The people who ask do have somewhat of a point in that any sort of assault is already a crime, a serious one, any significant threat is already a crime, and it almost seems offensive (looked at in a different light) to elevate one violent act over another. The crime is the crime and we don’t criminalize “thoughts” in this country.

It is a legitimate viewpoint even if one disagrees. (We do disagree and believe that hate crimes serve a purpose, but respect that it’s a legitimate point.)

There are legitimate reasons to pass h*te crime legislation. The first and, in our mind, most important, is to establish federal jurisdiction over what might otherwise be a state crime.

“Why does that matter?” Because in certain areas of this country, certain crimes are, perhaps, not taken as seriously as one might expect. Ensuring that a crime invokes federal jurisdiction ensures that the crime is treated with the same seriousness throughout the country. Another positive is the fact that it is a strong statement of support and a rejection of prejudices. Some symbolism is more than just symbolism. It matters.

There are other reasons but we consider the above two to be the most significant.

On Wednesday, the Senate voted to advance a bill directing the Justice Department to speed up its review of anti-Asian h*te crimes and strengthen reporting in an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote. The Daily Beast picks us up from there:

While 92 senators voted in favor, six Republicans voted against the legislation: Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Josh Hawley (R-MS), Rand Paul (R-KY), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), and Roger Marshall (R-KS). Cotton said in a statement, “The ‘COVID-19 H*te Crimes Act,’ has been moved to the Senate floor with little commentary, factfinding, or Committee consideration.” Anti-Asian harassment and attacks have increased significantly during the coronavirus pandemic, most notably culminating in an attack on Asian massage parlors in the Atlanta area that cost 8 people their lives. Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI), the first Asian-American woman elected to the Senate, sponsored the bill.

Given the reasons we listed above, creating and acting upon federal h*te crimes serves a significant purpose. Support for this legislation at this time should be a no-brainer, unless one is predisposed to not particularly care if one group is singled out for anything anyway. Voting “no” on a bill like this is a statement. You will note that there are several “presumed presidential candidates” on that list.

The list provides us a cheat sheet, the six most openly racist Republican senators in the country: Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley, Rand Paul, Tommy Tuberville, Tom Cotton, and Roger Marshall.

How convenient.

****
Peace, y’all
Jason
[email protected] and on Twitter @JasonMiciak