ACTION - Alaska Hate Crime Legislation Introduced - Senate Bill 202

[bsara]

From: Alaskans Together [mailto:elias@alaskanstogether.ccsend.com] On Behalf Of Alaskans Together
Sent: Tuesday, March 02, 2010 4:00 PM
To: bsara.alaska@gci.net
Subject: Hate Crime Legislation Introduced In Alaska - Senate Bill 202

Hate Crime Legislation Introduced In Alaska - Senate Bill 202

Dear Alaskans Together Supporter,

Today we are sending word on some exciting legislation that has been introduced in the Alaska legislature as well as asking for your help in urging for a critical amendment to this bill for its passage.

Senator Bettye Davis (D Dist. K, Anchorage) has introduced Senate Bill 202 (SB 202), relating to Hate Crimes. We must say it is refreshing to be on the end of thanking our legislators for supporting us. And we definitely need to thank Sen. Davis for introducing this legislation. However, there is a piece of this legislation that is missing and needs to be added to fully protect our diverse community. As the bill currently stands, it leaves out protections for "gender identity" as a protected class. The bill currently reads: "SB 202 -- An Act relating to the commission of a crime when the defendant directed the conduct constituting the crime at the victim based on the victim's race, sex, color, creed, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, ancestry, or national origin."

The first hearing of this legislation in the Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled for March 8. We need your help today to be fully prepared. While we support this legislation, we will be urging that the bill be amended to include "gender identity and expression." It is essential we provide examples of hate crimes committed against someone because they are transgender or gender variant and living in Alaska. It is also important we show the full range of gender identities and experiences, for example, to include non-transsexual as well as transsexual people, as well as people from different walks of life, different racial and ethnic backgrounds and from a variety of regions in Alaska.

If you or someone you know has a story you would be willing to tell, please contact Kelli Burkinshaw by email at kburkinshaw@gmail.com or by phone at 505.280.2582 or Marsha Buck by email at mbuck@alaska.net or by phone at 907.789.6167.

Sincerely,


Board of Directors
Alaskans Together for Equality

P.S. - We will be sure to keep you updated on this bill and let you know about any other ways you can help.


Are you a member of Alaskans Together for Equality yet? You can support our work toward achieving lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender civil equality across Alaska. You can join our organization by becoming a member by visiting: http://www.alaskanstogether.org/donate.html
 

   

   
   

[Oni]

Why not accept the bill as is . As a start and then fight for more. The all or nothing approach seems to be detrimental.  I will glady post more later, more posted this as a reminder to my self

[S2]

I agree with Oni. It does include sexual orientation, so wouldn't that technically include transgendered people? Medically they might be considered having changed sex, but genetically nothing is different so it would still fall under the category of orientation. They really haven't changed gender, just the illusion of it.

But that's just my opinion

[Oni]

Yay some one agrees with me LOL

[ShadeFoster]

I do not support hate crime legislation. Saying a Crime is worse just because it targets a type of person is idiotic. Serial killers all target a type, Gang bangers target rival ganbangers and I could go on. Also hate crimes exclude people of the same "type" as the victim. The simple thing all violent crimes are "hate" crimes and hate crime legislation simply devalue victims that do not fit into the criteria. Sorry but we need better crime legislation and punishments need to appropriate to the crime not made worse just because the victims are different than the attacker. Plus am I the only one that sees these laws as the opposite direction of equality.

[Oni]

Reading over ShadeFosters Typings I couldn't help but think to myself.
"One law for the Minorities, One law for the Single White, Straight, American, Male."
Said tounge in cheek of course but the point is still there. I could run over a white guy tomorrow and just go to jail for man slotter or something stupid, But if they found out he was gay on top of that, then it it would become a hate crime as well. They would make it out that I went out of my way to target him, when in actuality I was targeting anyone walking down that particular sidewalk that day.

Okay I realize that most likly made very little sense as my brain has not fully woken up and on am on my way out the door to work. So I will check in laterz.


TTFN

[Keph]

**Edit - I really need to wake up before trying to be smart in any fashion - sorry everyone >.<**

That's the problem I've always had with any sort of "single-targeting" hate crime OR racism legislation - it can be horribly abused. As an example, let's assume for a moment that someone who's a transsexual is fired from a job for being incompetent. If that person felt so inclined, with this sort of legislation in effect, they can file a report saying that they were fired because of their gender / say that they were fired because their boss didn't like transsexuals / etc. At that point, it becomes a court issue - and more often than not, the employer will be forced to keep someone working that they normally wouldn't (due to inability, incompetence, etc.) because of something having to do with their lifestyle. If that makes any sense O.o (I'm sleepy at the moment..)

This being the case, that would mean that minorities would have more "rights" than the non-minorities. If I get fired from a job today (citing incompetence, for instance) I can't say that the boss is biased against whites, as an example. I'd just get laughed at, and have to go find another job. As it is, I do agree that there are multiple instances where employers (or anything else that falls under the bill's umbrella) have discriminated against others for multiple reasons (Color, gender, orientation, etc.) - but it goes all directions, not just at the minorities. You don't hear about it in the news, but I can almost guarantee that it happens.

I'm hoping this makes a little bit of sense - I may come back later and clarify some points as required. Just my 2 cents.

[Oni]

And now to take the flip side.

Some laws are put in place to protect those that can not protect themselves. ...
Through that though, there will be those that will take advantage of that. Much like you just pointed out.

I think this law is a good idea...

To be honest "Sexual Orientation" should encompass it all. I always figured it took care of the whole GLBTASASdklasjOIUT soup. I think its a little redundent to have every individual class of person in it.

Why take what you can get now, and then keep working for more, instead of saying what you are being offered is not good enough for you?

[ShadeFoster]

Okay I guess I need to be clear on something, Hate Crime laws are about Violent crimes. Discrimination laws are a good thing, hate crime not so much.

Keph I agree with what you said to a point but I find you miss the point. What you are discussing is discrimination, not a hate crime and here in fact is the problem. People cannot seem to understand that Discrimination laws are meant for protecting civil liberties. This is where people need protecting as well as it is easy to infringe on a persons civil liberties based on a biased, and yes these laws can be abused.

Hate Crime legislation always applies to Violent crimes. Since people appear to like scenarios I will provide you one. A guy goes out with his friends for a guys night out. During the evening of drinking and women free entertainment a fellow purveyor at the bar turns and by accident dumps a tray of beers on our bar hopping "friend" here. Being pissed off our "friend" trades obscenities with the guy who has dumped beers all over him. During the verbal sparring our friend calls the guy a Fagot then punches the guy in the face. Now at this moment we have a problem if the guy our "friend" just assaulted happens to be gay he just committed a hate crime. Why ? Because the guy was gay ? No in reality he punched a dude in the face that is the crime. The fact that the guy was gay is just not important. Hate crime laws insinuate that a crime is worse because the guy he punched was gay, and there fore says it is better to punch non gays in the face.

You can escalate this example a lot further and I will if I have too, but I should not.  Hate crime laws escalate crimes that should not be and devalue crimes that should not be. A successful law should be blind and therefore apply to all people equally other wise it is an unjust law. If you feel you need laws like this then you should be for harsher sentencing across the board not this farce.

[Keph]

I apologize for the misreading. I went off in a completely different direction there on accident >.> That's the last time I do an early morning attempt at intelligence. On that note, I completely agree with Shade on this one. There's no denying that there are hate crimes out there aplenty, but making existing crimes more than what they actually are is not the right approach for it.

Apologies for missing the point originally. >.<