The Cincinnati Enquirer |
Editorial Page
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Nov. 1, 1998 |
| It is amazing to me to observe the frenzy to push for new hate crime legislation. Matthew Shepard’s death was a tragedy, but I cannot help wondering how many will die cruel deaths in this country before this day ends, most of which will go unnoticed. It puzzles me why much of the media (and our current administration) spend so much time on this topic, yet avoid many larger issues. For example, how can we continue to ignore a truly helpless and innocent segment of our society? Nearly a third of the members of this group will be cut limb from limb or poisoned, all without anesthetic. While this atrocity goes on, numbering over a million lives a year, our president will ignore the cries of those unborn human beings, even continuing to veto the partial-birth abortion ban. | Those who killed Matthew Shepard will pay for their crime. New hate crime legislation is not the answer. We have laws on the books to handle these situations. What we need to do is to wake up and hear the cries of the truly unprotected little ones who are perishing through abortion every day.
Joe Stenger, Mount Healthy
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(Todd's note: In reference to "It puzzles me why much of the media (and our current administration) spend so much time on this topic, yet avoid many larger issues.", it is interesting that this argument didn't surface after the racially motivated dragging death of James Byrd in Jasper, Texas. Apparently, people are willing to downplay hate crimes against gays in ways they would never consider against other minorities.)
