Galludet Murders Shed Light On Injustice Of Hate Crime
Laws Washington, DC - The recent murders of two Galludet University students points up the need for thoughtful Americans to rethink the wisdom of passing "hate crime" laws. The brutal murder of these students was allegedly the work of Joseph M. Mesa, Jr., a freshman at this well-known liberal arts school for the deaf here in Washington, D.C. Press reports indicate that Mesa has confessed to police that he killed both students for their money. Eric Plunkett, a homosexual activist on campus, was found beaten to death in his dormitory room on September 28, 2000. Benjamin Varner was stabbed to death on Feb. 3. Predictably, homosexual activists and the mainstream media seized upon Plunkett's murder as an "anti-gay hate crime." Homosexuals held a prayer vigil for Plunkett shortly after his murder and decried "hate" and "intolerance." Last November, The Advocate, a homosexual magazine, said Plunkett's murder brought to the surface the "undertone of homophobia" that "gay" deaf students suffer at Galludet. According to homosexuals, Plunkett's murder is simply another example of the hatred that homosexuals receive from straight society. Let's get real here. Not every homosexual who is killed is the victim of heterosexual "hate." Homosexual activists, however, are always on the lookout for propaganda opportunities to create martyrs for their cause-no matter how flimsy the evidence might be that "hate" was involved. In Plunkett's case, it was robbery, not anti-gay "hate" that motivated his murder. Homosexual newspapers as well as mainstream newspapers owe their readers an apology for mischaracterizing Plunkett's murder as a hate crime. I don't expect such an apology, but one is certainly due. Homosexuals seem to be indifferent to the stabbing death of Benjamin Varner, a non-homosexual who was also allegedly killed by Mesa. Where is the anguish and prayer vigil for Varner? His death seems to be of little concern to homosexuals because he doesn't help their propaganda goal of passing hate crime laws. The different treatment accorded Varner by homosexual activists points up a serious problem with hate crime laws. Both Varner and Plunkett are dead. Yet, if Joseph Mesa had been charged with a hate crime for killing Plunkett, he would be receiving a stiffer sentence than for his murder of Varner. Is Varner's life of less value than Plunkett's? Apparently so. According to homosexual logic, the person who kills a homosexual deserves a more severe sentence than the person who kills a heterosexual. Under our system of justice, every person is supposed to be equal under the law. Eric Plunkett's life is not of greater value than Varner's simply because Plunkett engaged in homosexual sex acts. The penalty for murdering a person-regardless of how he has sex-should be equal. Justice is not served when some individuals are treated differently than others for the same crime. These two murders provide a compelling case against hate crime laws. These laws are discriminatory and violate the concept of equal justice under the law. And certainly no person should receive extra-legal protections under the law because of the way he engages in sex. This flies in the face of logic, undermines fairness, and it creates a two-tiered legal system where homosexuals are more equal than others under the law. We cannot-must not-accept this assault on true justice. Traditional Values Coalition is an inter-denominational public policy organization comprising over 43,000 member churches. For more information call Christy Moore at (202) 547-8570. TVC, 139 C Street, SE, Washington, DC 20003. Web address: www.traditionalvalues.org. |