http://www.towleroad.com/2012/07/okcfirebomb.html
Jon Ferguson, a 25-year old gay Oklahoma City man Saturday morning saw his car spray painted with the word “fag,’ then blown up feet away from him as he approached. Ferguson was rushed to the hospital with 1st and 2nd degree burns as the flames from his Camaro rose ten feet into the air. Oklahoma City Fire Department and local officials are treating this only as a case of arson, and not as a hate crime, for now.
For shame Oklahoma.
‘Fag’ Painted On Gay Man’s Car Then Blown Up In Front Of Him
NO looking at our collective navels, NO trying to figure out what "makes Johnnie such a terror", NO figuring out that Johnnie had a poor family unbringing!
First: a hate crime is "any felony or violent crime based on prejudice against a particular group. They are prejudice's most extreme expression compared to other crimes, hate crimes have a broader impact on victims and communities because they target core aspects of identify." [American Psychological Association - APA]
In an article titled "The Psychology of Hate Crimes" (APA by Diane Elmore, PhD, MPH) hate crimes are based on "race, color, religion, or national origin." [18 U. S. C. Sec 245] It should be noted that the Matthew Shepard Act enacted by Congress in 2009 added gender, gender identify, sexual orientation, and disability to the federal definition of a hate crime.
In 2007 there were 1,460 hate crimes based on sexual orientation - 59.2% were anti-male homosexual bias.
In a study of lesbian, gay and bisexual persons 1/5th of women and 1/4th of men had been a victim of hate crime since age 16. One in 8 women and one in six men had been victimized within the last 5 years. Over 50% of perpetrators are under age 25.
The first Federal hate crime legislation was the Civil Rights Act of 1871. The first state hate-crime statute was in California in 1978 but it was based on race, religion, color and national origin only (just as the Federal law was at the time). Then in 1981 Washington added ancestry as a hate crime. Alaska in 1982 added creed and sex and later disability, sexual orientation and ethnicity. In the 1990s state laws began adding age, marital status, membership in the armed forces, and membership in civil rights organizations.
In order for hate crime prosecution at the Federal level the provision that there be an activity that is Federal-related was removed. The variety of charges one might face under any hate crime statute ranges from simple assault, to rape, to murder (and a number of other such offenses). Obviously the level of penalty will depend on the jurisdiction and the conviction under which a person stands convicted.
One of the central points of interest is that "hate crimes" are defined but the impact is not only on the victim but also on the community.
I found it interesting that a terrorist act was nowhere referred to as a hate crime in the limited research I did on this general subject. So, to use 9/11 as an example my thought is that while 9/11 was a crime the intent was not to single out a specific group. Rather, it was aimed at what the World Trade Center represented sitting, as it did, in one of the most prominent cities on the North American continent. Thus, we refer to our response as "The War on Terror."
oklahoma has passed an amendment that it can IGNORE the matthew shepherd federal hate crimes bill....i'd say that they're a little more apt to have hate crimes there.
a hate crime is AS significant as any other crime, that's the point. for eons, if you were attacked for being gay, lesbian, whatever, you had no recourse and more than likely you wouldn't even get a fair hearing on the event. if you don't understand what a hate crime is you're lucky because, obviously, you've never been a victim.
The world is full of injustice, prejudice and hatred. Oklahome is no more likely a place for such things than any other in these united states... sad, but true.
There is no justification or excuse for acting on one's hatred or prejudice in such ways. None.
While I am not a lawyer, why is a "hate crime" any more significant than a "crime?"
If the word "bitch" was spray painted on the car would that make it a hate crime?