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Smile when you call me that!: The problems with punishing hate motivated behavior
Author(s) -
Gerstenfeld Phyllis B.
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
behavioral sciences and the law
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.649
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1099-0798
pISSN - 0735-3936
DOI - 10.1002/bsl.2370100209
Subject(s) - hatred , hate crime , law , constitution , criminology , political science , sociology , politics
During the last several years, many jurisdictions have enacted laws meant to punish behavior motivated by racial hatred or other forms of bigotry. The actual impact of these laws is probably largely symbolic. These laws, which are often called “hate crime” laws, have a number of problems. Hate crime laws may violate the constitution, but this problem can usually be avoided through careful drafting. More importantly, there are a number of practical and policy problems with hate crime laws; not only are these crimes difficult to identify, but they involve the problematical consideration of the offender's motive. In addition, social scientific theories suggest that the laws may actually increase bigotry and disempower minorities. For these reasons, it is recommended that policy‐makers explore other means of reducing bigotry.