The Bill was passed by a vote of 248-175, with 18 Democrats voting against the Bill, and 17 Republicans voting for. Which, in and of itself, demonstrates that there was much politicking and backroom wheeling and dealing with members of the House concerned about their re-elections affecting some of those votes. The Bill now goes on to the Senate.
This piece of legislation expands the Hate Crimes legislation passed several years ago to include crimes connected with gender and other biases. It also affords the ACLU and other civil rights legal organizations an "economic stimulus" and bigger pool of clients for their taxpayer paid legal fees for civil rights cases.
And also increases the tax burden in expanding government in order to provide the sums in order to enforce this new law at the local level in providing for a surveillance detail to the tune of 10 million over the course of the next two years.
Since there is already provisions for equality in criminal actions based upon the actual crime committed, such as stalking, harassment, assault, and bodily injury or property damage, it does appear that our Congress continues to expand its reach even though it appears with the current U.S. economy and ongoing war it has more than enough on its plate already.
Since there are grant monies involved, it will also strain local law enforcement personnel, even with the added sums, and take them away from pursing the property and violent crimes that are actually committed and increasing in most states across the nation. Local law enforcement and the states actually know what crimes their particular states and local communities actually have the most trouble with, and each state's needs inherently different in that respect. Now we again will have political arrests for state budgetary needs and revenue, and the also more federally funded actions for outrageous fee awards and lawyers welfare needs potentially for any and all crimes against ever increasing protected classes when all taken together in total are now the majority of Americans.
The crimes which most often occur in the border states, for example, in drug related crimes and property theft will once again be shoved aside - since we all know that all federal grant monies come with strings and performance standards attached. Such as the now low level DUI and social drinking enforcement actions.
Since there are already state and local laws for each and every criminal action which occurs irrespective of race, sex, gender, etc., shouldn't the motivation for any such crimes be left for a jury to decide as a fact matter, and the punishment for provable intentional biased-based criminal activities be up to them depending on the evidence presented at the actual trial?
Why is the federal government involved in handing out and dictating the punishments now for state criminal actions, in direct violation of our Constitution and outside their jurisdiction?
Now the federal government is involved in dictating local police actions and priorities. Just when will it end?
What will be next, a law providing extra penalties for telling blonde jokes at the water cooler, or male menopause jokes at the local gym?
I don't mean to make light of this, but it does appear that Congress does have greater priorities at this time, and also the fact that these laws simply seem redundant and really should be left to state and local authorities, and the jurors as "crimes against the state."
The power of the jury and voice of the people continues to be whittled away due to a great many of these recent interferences by federal officials in what the founders provided were state and local criminal matters under both Bush with the social drinking taxs and laws, and now Obama in state and local civil and criminal matters at an ever-increasing rate.
