Hate Crimes Bill: A Reckoning
07/17/2009
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Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., said it was ”patently offensive” that violence against one class of victims would be considered worse than violence against others. ”We cannot have a colorblind society if we continue to write color-conscious laws,” he said. ”It violates all the principles of equal justice under the law.”

Hat tip, BlackpoliticsontheWeb.com

At this point, DeMint’s statement appears to be the best thing coming out of last night’s Senate debacle. The Hate Crime Bill monstrosity was successfully attached to the Defense Appropriations Bill 63-28. Names of interest in the vote for — which as I pointed out last night is outrageous in itself simply because it denies seemly consideration of what AP finally got around to describing as

the most sweeping expansion of federal hate crimes law since Congress responded four decades ago to the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

are Landrieu (D-LA) Lugar (R-IN) Pryor (D-AR) Rockefeller (D-WV) Warner (D-VA) Webb (D-VA)

No Democrat voted against.

Nine Senators did not vote:

Alexander (R-TN) Bond (R-MO) Bunning (R-KY) Byrd (D-WV) Corker (R-TN) Graham (R-SC) Gregg (R-NH) Kennedy (D-MA) Martinez (R-FL)

Seven out of nine Republicans. Their constituents should ask why.

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