Wednesday’s article “Federal legislation covering hate crimes sought” was about a presentation on human rights, hate crimes and hate crime legislation. The goal of hate crime legislation is to add extra time to the sentences of people convicted of crimes against people whom they hate. While the push for such sentencing laws is probably well-intended by many, I cannot be silent about what seems a dangerous subterfuge.

Just imagine: Here we have a criminal, convicted of a hate crime, the recipient of a sentence of X number of years in prison for the act itself and then 5 or so more years in prison just for what he was thinking before and during the commission of the crime.

Prison time for one’s thoughts? No one claims to want to send people to prison just for thinking something, but many do want to punish severely those who think bigoted thoughts and then commit crimes.

Is it more terrible to kill someone that you hate than to kill someone that you love? Killing is killing, and crime is crime – both are tragic, both should be punished, but without regard to the bias of the criminal.

If your true desire is the preservation of human rights, then don’t disregard the right to have an opinion, the right to think whatever you want, no matter whom it offends.

Jeremy Alm

Graduate student

Mathematics