Hate Crime Laws just emotional

 I never thought that there has to be a conflict between intelligence

    and sensitivity, but there seems to be in this matter of " hate crime "

    legislation . Gay rights groups want more legislation as response to

    abominations as the torture death of the openly gay young man, Matthew

    Shepard.  President Clinton -with noble intentions I'm sure - is urging

    Congress to pass the federal Hate Crimes Protection Act.

             At the time young Shepard was found horribly beaten and tortured,

    it was pointed out that the Wyoming legislature opposed special hate

    crime laws. Perhaps they are a bunch of hard ass Republicans. I don't

    know. But it is very unfair to associate their resistance to " hate

    crime " with the fiendish deed.

              It is against the law to beat, torture, and murder ANYBODY,

    for whatever " reason " . When we read about more " ordinary " people

    being tortured and murdered, do we hear clamors for stronger homicide

    laws?  Most criminal types are -any psychiatrist will tell you -pathological

    haters.  Must we conclude that it is bad enough to be a murderer, but

    downright intolerable to be a HATEFUL murderer ?

            It is unwise for the LAW -which at least strives for EQUAL JUSTICE -

    to single out groups for SPECIAL PROTECTION . Existing law makes hate

    crime legislation superfluous just about everywhere in the United States.

           Edgar Allen Poe wrote a chilling story, " The Tell Tale Heart " about

    a " perfectly sane " person who murders an old man because he can't stand

    the glance of his VULTURE EYE .

             Perhaps people out there with a  VULTURE EYE need the special

    protection of the law!

             But was murder in " The Tell Tale Heart " really a hate crime ?

       " I was never kinder to the old man than the week before I killed

    him ". ( Poe character )