Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act Of 2009

Floor Speech

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Mr. McCLINTOCK. Mr. Speaker, it comes down to this: Free societies punish acts. Authoritarian regimes punish opinions and thoughts.

Now, the supporters of this bill speak of punishing violent acts, but we already punish those violent acts, as well we should. This measure calls for additional punishment, not for the violent act, but for the opinion behind the act.

Before we embarked down this path, the opinions of the criminal were irrelevant. It was the act that we proscribed, and it was the act that we punished. Many civil libertarians warned us then that if we place in the hands of government the ability to define what opinions it likes and doesn't like, and then to punish those opinions on top of the acts themselves, then we've started down a very dangerous and slippery slope.

That opinion, I think, was clearly illustrated when the committee voted down an amendment to include veterans, for example, under these protections under the hate crimes law. Now, the supporters of this measure made it very clear that they're actively involved in singling out particular opinions with special protection and for special prosecution.

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