By Nat Hentoff
Nat Hentoff, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, is a nationally renowned authority on the First Amendment and the Bill of Rights.
Added to cato.org on July 31, 2009
This article appeared in the Pasadena Star News on July 30, 2009.
THROUGHOUT the Bush-Cheney creation of a society under surveillance and unprecedented government secrecy, I have often praised Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., for resisting that administration’s penchant for degrading the Constitution. But on July 16, he proudly watched as the Senate passed his “hate crimes” bill (the Matthew Shepard Act) that is the biggest expansion of federal hate-crimes laws since 1968 – providing extra prison time to committers of violent acts perceived to be based on sexual orientation, gender identity or disability (adding to the previous classifications of race, color, religion or national origin).
On the Senate floor, John McCain, R-Ariz., cut to the unconstitutional core of this bill and all such “hate crime” legislation. Leahy’s bill, as of this writing, the president is eager to sign.
Said [John] McCain: “Our legal system is based on identifying, capturing and punishing criminals, and not on using the power of government to try to divine biases.” In opposing what James Madison condemned as “thought crimes,” McCain added: “Crimes motivated by hate deserve vigorous prosecution, but so do crimes motivated by absolute wanton disregard for life of any kind.” No matter against whom. (more…)