So here is where we are in the world today. Forget all existing laws, just create new ones for appearance value rather than solving the problems. I don’t understand Road Rage. Let me see if I got this right. We need new laws for a new crime that appeared lately where it’s illegal to follow someone who cuts you off on the freeway, then shoot them when they finally pull over. Hasn’t this already been illegal for forever? And what’s this bullshit about Hate Crimes? This is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard of. What exactly is a hate crime? Murdering someone in a vile manner because they are a different race. Yeah, that’s pretty terrible alright. If I blowtorch a man to death who is my own race, I get say 25 years. If I do it to a man of a different race, I get 50. What the shit is that? The fact that murdering someone, anyone, doesn’t carry the highest penalty possible, says a lot about the justice system and society in general. "Go ahead, commit murder… you’ll pay for it… but make sure it’s someone who’s the same skin color or we’ll REALLY stick it to you. Personally, I think that any violent crime is a “hate crime”, but then again, I’m not a politician. IMHO, you want to clear up violent crime, you make the one who commited the crime suffer the exact same thing they inflicted on someone else… but that would be cruel and unusual wouldn’t it?
actually if your a white person and racially curse out another white person as you kill them you get hate crime:)
Wasn’t that previously known as “assault” though, again, a hate crime by definition?
oops…missed the “as you kill them part”… duh…
That would be murder. And again I ask… why is it more of a crime if I use a racial slur while doing it? Point is, I agree with the concept. What I have a problem with is that it makes a crime more acceptable if race isn’t involved. If the punishment can be increased for any crime if race is involved… why isn’t it already increased from the get go?
could I ask what state/jurisdiction has pending legislation referring specifically to ‘road rage’?
For example, the recent case w/OJ, while the news accounts speak of ‘road rage’, the charges are battery/robbery sort of thing (he grabbed the sunglasses out of the other person’s car or some such thing). Here
Right now, Virginia and Arizona currently have “road rage” laws in effect. CA, MO and MN are in the works that I know of, but I’m sure there are several others jumping on the bandwagon.
Really? I just did a cursory search on both Virginia and Arizona legislative on line sites for “road rage” and got zero hits on both.
Could you perhaps be more specific - give a link? I’d really like to see the wording of any legislation that specifies ‘road rage’ as a seperate crime.
I agree with the take that Road Rage=Assault and no special law is needed.
Hate crimes, as I understand it, are acts of violence done soley because of a victim’s race, creed, or sexual orientation, etc. IMHO, I think those crimes should be punished more severely than your common-everyday-variety assault.
Some everyday garden variety murderers get out on parole (at least the ones with good lawyers). For hate crimes involving murder, I’d give the perpetrators the most severe punishment you could inflict, life-in-prison without parole or the death penalty.
I think OJ was just brought up on road rage charges.
wring, not sure if this is what you are looking for, but it’s some good info if you are interested on the subject.
http://www.aaafts.org/Text/research/RoadRageFinal.htm
Rico, I guess my question is why doesn’t murder alone carry the most severe punishment possible? Are you saying it’s really not that bad to commit murder, but if you call someone a name while doing it, that it makes it anymore worse? To me, willfully and maliciously taking a life is taking a life… murder in itself is a hate crime. Just curious is all.
I seem to have missed the OJ thing earlier. That wasn’t why I started this, just that in watching the news they talked about both again, which just burns me a bit. I generally ignore anything about OJ. I seem to one of very few who believes he didn’t do it, but that’s for another time.
Please note my prior posting - although the press keeps referring to the event as “road rage”, according to the news story I cited, the charges are battery and robbery (he grabbed the guys sunglasses off his face).
thanks. Tequilla., yes I am interested in that sort of thing.