Are Christians victims of hate crimes? Urbana Police apparently say 'no'
8/15/2007 8:14:00 AM
By Dan Zanoza
I don't particularly care for hate crime laws. Someone needs to explain to me how the criminal justice system knows what is in an individual's mind when they are breaking the law. I jokingly refer to hate crime enforcers as the thought police. Quite honestly, they would have to have some kind of special psychic ability to determine whether certain types of crimes were motivated by certain types of hate.
However, if hate crimes are on the books, then they should be enforced equally. Not every homosexual who is physically assaulted is a victim of a hate crime. There is a distinct possibility the perpetrator may have had another motive or emotion to incite the altercation. The same can be said about African-Americans, people of the Jewish faith, and other minorities. Law enforcement and the media have a definite tendency to quickly label any violent crime committed against someone from these groups as "hate crimes."
In contrast, Christians seem to be rarely, if ever, depicted as hate crime victims. Such is currently the case in Urbana, Illinois where a number of Christian churches have been targeted for graffiti and vandalism. The First Wesleyan Church and the United Pentecostal Church in Urbana were recently defaced by vandals who wrote 6-6-6 on the buildings, depicted satanic images with drawings of crosses turned upside down, and, to top it off, defaced the places of worship with swastikas.
Hello! The last time I heard, these types of messages were decidedly anti-Christian; I don't believe it was a coincidence that the criminals chose to target houses of Christian worship. It seems that these acts should qualify as hate crimes, but not according to Sarah Links, a spokesperson for the Urbana Police Dept., who was quoted by Dave Benton of WCIA 3, the CBS affiliate in Champaign, Illinois. I contacted Ms. Links, who referred me to her supervisor, Lt. Seraphin. I was wondering why Ms. Links could give a quote to an Urbana TV station, but she couldn't give me a comment when I asked her why the Urbana Police Dept wouldn't consider the defacing of a Christian Church a hate crime. I obviously had put officer Links on the spot with a tough question, but these queries need to be answered in a just society.
Lt. Seraphin clarified the situation by telling me that Links' previous comments did not reflect the policy of the Urbana Police Dept. regarding the prosecution of those who commit hate crimes. Seraphin admitted it is a daunting task for police to attempt to determine what is in the heart and mind of a human being. "We definitely would consider the desecration of the two churches as possible hate crimes," said Seraphin, "but a determination has not been made on that subject to date."
Apparently, the two churches are not alone as targets for what I obviously consider hate crimes. A number of images have been put on street signs and in other public areas, all seemingly meant to antagonize Christians within the Urbana community.
For a moment, let's imagine a "gay" night spot in Urbana had become a target for negative graffiti. We all know the first words from homosexual activists would be that there is a coordinated effort to spread hate against their community. The media and police would, most likely, follow suit and the story would potentially have the juice to make the national news.
Again, the question begs to be put forth: Can Christians be targets of hate crimes? From what we've seen on the local, state, and national levels, the answer is "no." If the law is applied unequally, then such laws -- by their nature -- are unjust. Opponents of hate crime legislation have all the ammunition necessary to fight off attempts by state legislators to make hate crimes the law of the land. For honest-thinking men and women, this concept - one that claims to know what's in a person's mind -- is flawed.
Moreover, IFI's Dave Smith points out that "the whole idea of hate crimes is bad public policy." Smith asks some good questions:"Why does it matter what motivated his crime? Is it less serious if your attacker was high on drugs? What if he was motivated by boredom, the need for 50 bucks, or to qualify for a street gang?
Shall a rapist who calls his victim a 'b' also be charged with a hate crime? Shall the guy who commits road rage be also charged with a hate crime because he called the victim "four eyes" or "punk?
Sadly, hate crimes and those who endorse such laws are looking for headlines more than justice. This only helps to create feelings of frustration by groups who are not protected equally under the law. If hate crimes are to be on the books, police departments, like the one in Urbana, should apply the law fairly or not implement it at all.
Daniel T. Zanoza, 53, is a free lance journalist and political analyst. He has a degree in political science and social work. Zanoza formed RFFM.org nearly fifteen years ago, in an attempt to encourage fair coverage of political and social issues in the mainstream media which are important to pro-family conservatives. Zanoza often works behind the scenes with journalists in a non-confrontational manner to achieve this goal.
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