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Maher: Hate Crime Laws Give "Liberals A Bad Name"
Real Clear Politics ^ | 3/24/12
Posted on March 24, 2012 8:18:09 PM EDT by Impala64ssa
On his HBO show "Real Time," host Bill Maher spent six minutes discussing his strong opposition to "hate crime laws." "One more aspect of this (Treyvon Martin case) which is hate crimes, and I know that you've (pointing to Andrew Sullivan) written about this. Some people think that a hate crime is a thought crime and this shouldn't be some separate category, a crime is a crime. It's an action. Is that what you guys believe? That's what I believe," Maher said to his panel comprised of Andrew Sullivan, Wendy Schiller and Glenn Greenwald. "It's totally what I believe," Andrew Sullivan said. "I don't want, in any way, the government getting into my mind, into my thought process." The discussion moved on to a specific case involving Rutgers student Tyler Clementi and his former roommate Dharun Ravi that is being labeled a hate crime. Last year, Clementi committed suicide after being hazed by Ravi. Maher says trying this case as a hate crime "gives liberals a bad name. Maher says Ravi was "a mean kid" but that he shouldn't face the amount of jail time he is looking at, 10 years in prison, for being "mean." "If it's against the law to be stupid, we're all going to be in jail eventually," Maher said to guest Wendy Schiller, who accused Ravi of attacking Clemente because of his sexual orientation. "He was a mean kid." "I just think this is what gives liberals a bad name," Maher also said. "Just this? Nothing else, just this?" Schiller asked.
(Excerpt) Read more at realclearpolitics.com ...
I agree w Mahr