All Crime Should Be Equally Punished (Rep. Lynn Westmoreland)

If you commit a violent crime against another person, you should be punished to the full extent of the law. In the eyes of the law, it shouldn’t make a difference if the motive was hate or greed or even boredom. The law should look at a crime, determine what punishment it deserves and then consistently apply the punishment. As a society, we should have a zero-tolerance policy toward violent crime.

I don’t think a perpetrator should get less time behind bars because he wasn’t motivated by hate. This legislation, [the Hate Crime Prevention Act of 2007, H.R. 1592], implies that violent crime isn’t as bad if it’s random or simply senseless. I disagree. I think they’re equally despicable and the law should treat them equally harsh.