Are terms like "date rape" and "hate crime" redundant or superfluous?

Question

If a girl got raped, who cares if she was on a date or not -- SHE GOT RAPED period.

If someone was murdered, robbed, beaten, etc, those are already crimes in themselves, so what does it bring to the table to say these crimes were committed out of hate (as opposed to robbing someone out of LOVE!)?

This just all seems so silly, so silly that humans are so wrapped up in empty symbolism in general.

If there is something wrong in the sentencing for murders, you need to reform that, not creating additional BS crimes to make a sentence stick.

Answer 1

If you do away with those terms how would reporters enhance their story's? In answer to your question those terms define or are adjectives to describe certain kinds of crimes and should be used as such..

Answer 2

The term "date rape" wasn't "created" to minimize the fact that the victim was raped. In reality it was a term that rape victims advocates began using to help people get over the misconception that sexual assaults were only committed by strangers.
I am a criminal prosecutor and my experience has been that this misconception still exists. When you talk about a woman being raped there is a common vision conjured in the jurors' minds that rapes are committed by large, dirty, ogreish looking men who hide in bushes, ambushing strangers by gun or knife point. In reality the vast majority of sexual assaults are committed by acquaintances of the victim. The trend now is to get away from the term date rape and toward acquaintance rape.
It may seem superfluous, but to some degree language does affect thought and as people become more accustomed to thinking that sexual assaults are committed by acquaintances, it is easier to convince jurors that they shouldn't acquit date rapists because they didn't attack their victim in a dark alley.
One last thought on date rape. In my jurisdiction there isn't a special law for date rape. A sexual assault is a sexual assault. However, by using the terminology of acquaitance rape it makes it easier to explain.
The phrase "hate crime" (whether or not you agree with the legislature for doing this or not) changes the classification of the offense. If I walk up to a person and punch them I have committed a battery (a misdemeanor) or if I throw a rock through the window of their house I have committed a criminal damage to property (a misdemeanor) however if the reason I hit the person or through a rock through their window was because of their religion, race, sexual orientation, etc., then, depending on the jurisdiction, I may have committed a hate crime, which is often a felony. The theory behind hate crime laws is to protect those who are traditionally singled out and in the past have not recieved full protection of the law. I am not suggesting that you agree or disagree with the decision to make crimes more severe because of the status of the victim, rather I am pointing out that as the law is in many jurisdictions it is a meaningful distinction and not redundant or superflous.

Answer 3

Hate crime legislation is nothing more than punishing someone for their thoughts. It is a crazy and dangerous idea.

If you kill someone for their watch or because they are white it is still murder. The reason for the murder doesn't matter, what matters is the outcome. In this case, it is the death of a person.

If someone breaks into a house and trashes it for the fun of it or breaks into a house and trashes it because the person that lives there is of asian ancestory it really doesn't matter. The house is trashed and they should be prosecuted accordingly.

If someone rapes a black woman how do you know that is a hate crime or just a rape? Do you know only if they tell you the reason they did it or do you know it's a hate crime because the local DA says it is? Does it matter either way? The woman is still raped and the reason for the rape doesn't matter. The person committing the crime needs to be punished for a rape.

All hate crime legislation should be eliminated because it makes no sense. If you want punishment for a crime to be higher than the legislators should make the penalties for a particular crime higher then it will apply equally to everyone. Hate crime nonsense has no clear cut application is simply a political tool wrapped into the criminal code.

Answer 4

A date rape usually occurs when woman goes on a date
& is unknowingly given a drug (GHB), or is forced to have
sex without her consent.

A hate crime is commited to someone because of their
race, religion or some other belief that is other than that
of the attacker.

Then there are violent crimes, assult for robbery or crimes
of passion that are committed in the heat of the moment.

Date rape & hate crimes used to kept in the closet, but
bringing these out in the open makes people realize
these crimes are committed by a certain kind of person,
a person who should be under strict, or medical, or both
kinds of supervision.

Answer 5

No. They have specific legal meanings.

A "hate crime" or "bias crime" is one committed where the victim was targeted solely because they were a member of a particular group (race, religion, gender, etc.) rather than being targeted out of some individual motive.

The fact that the target was chosen based on arbitrary traits that had nothing to do with them as an individual often results in a sentence enhancement, because someone who targets and entire group is potentially more dangerous that someone who only attacks a specific individual for a specific motive.

As for date rape, that refers to when the attacker is know by the victim, and potentially trusted (to some degree) by the victim. As opposed to rape of a complete stranger. Unlike the hate crime enhancement, this aspect is important only for how the victim gets consoled, and for certain evidentiary matters during trial. It doesn't usually affect the sentence.

Answer 6

Date rape is rape but it comes with special considerations.
Hate crimes - because a person is a different race, religion ethnic group etc. has a much deeper meaning than just a crime.

Answer 7

I really do see your point, but in those specific cases, it takes an already bad crime and escalates it to the next level as far as penalties are concerned.

Answer 8

I agree, they are redundant, repetitive, and superfluous, but only in a purely tautological sense.

Answer 9

I agree, they are redundant, repetitive, and superfluous, but it's to classify and charge the criminal .