Recently, there have been a flurry of letters to the Editor (The Spectrum, Deseret News) complaining about Congressman Jim Matheson's recent support of Hate Crimes legislation.It *really* bugs me when people don't pay attention. Putting aside that support of hate crimes legislation is the *right* thing to do (and I'll talk about that in a minute), the people who are so inflamed by his vote aren't even paying attention to what the legislation says.
So, I asked Matheson's people about it. The legislation in question only does one thing: it authorizes the U.S. Attorney General to award grants to local, state and Indian law enforcement agencies to help defray the costs of upholding the law, and authorizes the US Department of Justice to provide technical, forensic, prosecutorial or other assistance upon request from state, local, or tribal officials who are dealing with a hate crime. Period. I repeat: It provides technical, forensic, prosecutorial or other assistance upon request from state, local or tribal officials.
Big deal. This legislation imposes nothing on the states, and doesn't give anybody anything extra.
And yet, the letters continue. By the tone of these letters, it is apparent to me why hate crimes legislation is even necessary in the first place.
But isn't it somewhat ironic that when the Rev. Al Sharpton makes bigoted statements against Mitt Romney, people are outraged, calling his comments “wrong and un-American.” But when we talk about hate crimes legislation, singling out other Americans who are different in other ways is somehow OK.
For the record, I'm proud of my Congressman for supporting what is right. We should all take bold stands and is speak out against hate. Always.
And also for the record, Cannon and Bishop voted against the legislation (I guess they don't think local organizations deserve technical support or help in defraying costs. I'm gonna remember that the next time they vote for something that does just that. )
