Persecution?
I'm not going to reference the post, but at least one opponent of Proposition 8 has advocated destroying all the buildings of the Mormon Church, because of the Church's support of Proposition 8.
If you hate somebody...
is it okay to destroy his stuff?
Is it "okay" to destroy churches where the majority of congregants are black?
Is it "okay" to destroy churches where the majority of congregants are white?
Is it "okay" to destroy churches where the majority of congregants are Asian?
Is it "okay" to destroy a building because of the presence of Planned Parenthood?
Is it "okay" to destroy a building because of the presence of a "Right to Life" organization?
Is it "okay" to destroy a "God Hates Fags" church because of its opinion?
Is it "okay" to destroy a "God Loves Gays" church because of its opinion?
Is it "okay" to destroy a union headquarters because of the union's presence?
Is it "okay" to destroy a store because of its anti-union stance?
Is it "okay" to destroy a building because the owner rented space to the Democratic party?
Is it "okay" to destroy a building because the owner rented space to the Republican party?
Or would each one of those constitute a "hate crime"?Hate crimes (also known as bias motivated crimes) occur when a perpetrator targets a victim because of his or her membership in a certain social group, usually defined by racial group, religion, sexual orientation, disability, ethnicity, nationality, age, gender, gender identity, or political affiliation.
If it's "okay" to destroy some building simply because of the beliefs or speech of its owners or tenants, then the First Amendment means nothing. Nothing at all.
The rights to freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion are for those with whom we (or they) disagree.
While I understand the desire to destroy one's (successful, so far) opponent, I do not agree with it. For one thing, I think Proposition 8 will fall to constitutional challenge in court. No state may abrogate the right to religious freedom, and it is my clear understanding that Proposition 8 does exactly that.
For another thing... even the THREAT to destroy the buildings of a group - because of its religious or political affiliation - is a hate crime.
If you hate somebody...
is it okay to destroy his stuff?
Is it "okay" to destroy churches where the majority of congregants are black?
Is it "okay" to destroy churches where the majority of congregants are white?
Is it "okay" to destroy churches where the majority of congregants are Asian?
Is it "okay" to destroy a building because of the presence of Planned Parenthood?
Is it "okay" to destroy a building because of the presence of a "Right to Life" organization?
Is it "okay" to destroy a "God Hates Fags" church because of its opinion?
Is it "okay" to destroy a "God Loves Gays" church because of its opinion?
Is it "okay" to destroy a union headquarters because of the union's presence?
Is it "okay" to destroy a store because of its anti-union stance?
Is it "okay" to destroy a building because the owner rented space to the Democratic party?
Is it "okay" to destroy a building because the owner rented space to the Republican party?
Or would each one of those constitute a "hate crime"?Hate crimes (also known as bias motivated crimes) occur when a perpetrator targets a victim because of his or her membership in a certain social group, usually defined by racial group, religion, sexual orientation, disability, ethnicity, nationality, age, gender, gender identity, or political affiliation.
If it's "okay" to destroy some building simply because of the beliefs or speech of its owners or tenants, then the First Amendment means nothing. Nothing at all.
The rights to freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion are for those with whom we (or they) disagree.
While I understand the desire to destroy one's (successful, so far) opponent, I do not agree with it. For one thing, I think Proposition 8 will fall to constitutional challenge in court. No state may abrogate the right to religious freedom, and it is my clear understanding that Proposition 8 does exactly that.
For another thing... even the THREAT to destroy the buildings of a group - because of its religious or political affiliation - is a hate crime.