Catholic Conference to weigh legislation on hate crimes

Gov. George Pataki released a statement following the attack promising to re-introduce his proposed hate crime bill "every year if necessary...to make sure that such senseless and violent attacks as the one that claimed this young man's life do not happen in New York."

Forty-one states currently have increased penalties for perpetrators of hate crimes.

Other legislators, including Senate majority leader Joseph Bruno, oppose the governor's ideas for increased penalties against those found guilty of crimes based on race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender or disability. Opponents of hate-crime bills say New York State law covers such crimes as it stands, allowing longer sentences for crimes with aggravating circumstances.

The New York State Catholic Conference has promised that if a hate crime bill is introduced, it will review it, but it does not plan to take a position on it.

"In the past, we have taken no position [on hate crime bills] because they're presented as an increase in penalties in certain penal-code crimes," explained Conference executive director John Kerry.

He called any murder "heinous" and said that the victims are "all people that have names, have families," adding that the state's bishops are "absolutely, unequivocally opposed to any form of discrimination or violence to anyone."

However, he said, the entire issue of hate crimes has been "mislabeled," since proponents of such a bill propose to penalize someone based on their motivation for committing a crime.

"One school of thought says, `How can we legislate in this arena?'" he said. The motivation of a criminal "is very difficult to determine."

Mr. Kerry said that there are two warring schools of thought on such issues as hate crimes: one says that increased penalties will deter criminals from committing crimes; another believes those who commit acts like hate crimes are ill and need mental health treatment, addiction services and other correctional services.

The Catholic Conference, he said, will simply take any proposed bill and "put it into the context of basic Catholic social teaching and deal with it accordingly."

While no official position on such a bill is planned, the director said that the Conference and the state's bishops will "very seriously consider" the proposed legislation.

(10-22-98) [[In-content Ad]]