To the editor:
Our governor and state legislature are once again determined to enact an Indiana “hate crime law.” The fact that Indiana is one of only five states without a “hate crime law” appears to be at least one motivating factor.
Regardless of that perceived deficiency, I am not convinced that such a law is needed for several reasons:
- There is no credible evidence to suggest that such a law would be any deterrent to criminal activity already proscribed by existing statutory law.
- Indiana criminal law already allows judges the discretion to increase sentences if a crime is particularly egregious or based on one’s bias.
- Attempting to define which activities constitute “hate” could be a slippery slope leading to legislated “hate speech” constraints negatively impacting First Amendment free speech rights.
- Any attempt to define which organizations or groups “deserve” protection is already contentious and potentially fraught with unseen consequences.
- There is little objective evidence to suggest Indiana’s lack of a hate crimes law seriously impacts our state’s ability to attract new businesses and high potential employees.
In short, I feel our state government has much better things to do than attempting to pass hate crime legislation now or in the future.
David A. Nealy
Greenwood
