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Wow! Somehow I have gotten off track with the whole big government or the ADA thing. My main problem with a "protected class" in hate crimes is that the crime of "hate" becomes independent of the original act of violence. There are so many unintended consequences of that. One being that...

Jillio, I quickly searched for a chart showing unemployment rates. I purposely picked this from 90-95 to take the current recession and the earlier one out of the equation: http://www.cato.org/pubs/regulation/regv23n1/deleire.pdf It's a good and interesting read, even if you disagree. And in...

Yes thank you, Daredevel7 I meant to say employment!

Creating a harsher punishment for firing someone like me, has prevented employers from taking the chance in the first place. It's true. Employment went down for the disabled after ADA was passed. Lawyers refer to it as "rolling lawsuits." That's not to say that there aren't good parts to it...

Thank you for your vote of confidence, Jiro! It is a complex issue and an emotional one too!

Lol. You sound skeptical.

Jillio, let me give you an example of what happens whan government seeks to equalize people. In 1990 George HW signed the ADA. We're familiar with this, of course. It was a brave and bold piece of legislation with great intentions. Well by 1995 the employment rate of the disabled DROPPED...

I certainly agree with your assessment of inequality of minorities, DeafCaroline! I also respect your opinion. I think we just disagree about the role that government should play in trying to equalize. But that's what I love about diversity of opinion - the best form of diversity!

No jillio, with all due respect, domestic violence has a sentence for domestic violence. I have a problem creating a "protected class." Not in theory, because nothing is more disgusting to me than bigotry. Just in practice. In terms of overzealous prosecutors. Once a law is on the...

No, jillion. Of course I don't support lesser punishment, I support equal punishment for equal crimes. Murder = murder. Assault = assault. When a husband murders his wife in a fit of rage, how is that less important than if a gay basher murders a homosexual in a fit of rage? You feel that...

And what of the elderly or weak? Criminals prey on easy targets. When you say hate crimes serve to equalize that which is inherently equal, that's my problem with "government equalizing." Never a good thing. Whenever government tries to equalize, the opposite tends to happen.

Yes jillio. Blacks, women, and the GLTB are VERY marginalized. That doesn't mean that one life is more important or valuable than another. There are unintended negative consequences of well meaning legislation.

I understand the concept and the well meaning aspect of a hate crime, jillio. Often times well meaning legislation has unintended negative consequences. I don't like ANYONE being given less justice. Who is the arbiter of what constitutes "marginalized"? Justice should be equal for all...

Thanks.

Ok, I will have to read up on here. Are you one of the few conservatives?

Thanks!

Why SWK? Is it because they disagree with you politically? I'm not trying to be a smartass, I just don't know because I'm new.

I saw that article earlier in the day, kokonut. Very disturbing. I'm a libertarian so I'm pretty much in favor of a smaller, more efficient government. I'm also very liberal on social issues. The idea of hate crimes has always rubbed me the wrong way. Social engineering or trying to...

Hi HH Scientist! Tinnitus has been something of an issue with me for about 5 or so years. I used to have a non stop ringing, including during the day. Now it's pretty much just at night, and at nighttime it seems worse as years go by if that makes any sense. Because of epilepsy, lack of...

Hey BreBre1987, nice to meet you. I developed epilepsy a little later in life, it's manageable for me for the most part with proper meds. Although I do have a couple of episodes a year. Glad you're on the board.