Bob Barr: “I stand before you today to oppose Representative Conyers' motion to instruct which purports to include the Kennedy hate…”

“I stand before you today to oppose Representative Conyers' motion to instruct which purports to include the Kennedy hate crime language in H.R. 4205. So-called ``hate crimes'' legislation is discriminatory on its face. In a nutshell, such legislation treats crimes against certain classes of persons more severely than those same crimes if they were committed against another class of persons. This is clearly not ``equal justice under the law.'' All crimes are crimes of hate. Whenever a person harms another, there is hate. Should we enact federal legislation to punish hate directed towards one person more severely than hate directed against another, merely because of the victim's classification? I do not believe so. Under our present laws, the killers of James Byrd and Matthew Shepard (crimes which would have fallen under the Kennedy hate crimes provision) were severely punished for their illegal and gruesome crimes. James Byrd's killer was sentenced to death, and Matthew Shepard's killer was sentenced to two life sentences without the possibility of parole. These and other heinous crimes are prosecuted, and the perpetrators punished; under existing laws. People who commit such crimes are not going unpunished. Current federal and state laws are effective, and they are being used. There is no void here that new, ``hate'' legislation is needed to fill.”