The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.
— Ronald Reagan
Chances are you haven’t heard of HR 1592 aka Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2007. It was passed by the U.S. House of representatives on May 3, 2007. There is a good chance it will also pass the Senate and be signed into law.
The "Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2007" is a classic federal micromanagement program that will do nothing to reduce so-called hate crimes. What it will do is cost taxpayers money. It will also remove discretionary power from local communities and place it in the hands of federal authorities, continuing a piecemeal process that has been underway since the 1800’s in this nation.
As federal power grows, individual choice is inevitably diminished, all in the name of purported good intentions. Good intentions do not produce freedom though. Legislation like HR 1592 inevitably reduces freedom of choice by telling us how we must think, and setting mandatory guidelines for punishing thought crime. Instead of focusing the punishment where it should be focused – on physical harm perpetrated by one human against another, Congress is attempting to redirect the punishment to what is going on inside a citizen’s head.
When a legislative body wants to punish intent rather than the actual criminal act we are on a road to totalitarianism.
It is not government’s job to teach morality. It is not government’s job to regulate belief systems. Government has one basic job – collective security. That is all I want from my government. I do not want it to tell me how to think, how to live, what to believe, or who I should like or dislike.
Local government should deal with local security and crime issues. Federal government is and should be limited to dealing with external and interstate security matters. The problem with our federal government is that it has become a behemoth. That behemoth regularly ignores the limits placed on its own power. After all, the Constitution is just words on paper. It is the people with the guns and the intent that decide what the rules are and how they should be applied to you on a case by case basis.
I wonder which year I will write my first diatribe against federally mandated thought monitoring implants? Chances are I’ll be in incarcerated or dead long before that happens.
What others think
Irregular Times: Hate crimes legislation unnecessary and unconstitutional
Jack Lewis: Act now or prepare for jail