If a person verbally abuses someone with different beliefs than theirs and the person recieving the verbal abuse physically lashes out, is the person who lashes out committing a physical crime or is it also a hate crime?
2007-07-23 12:50:04 · 7 answers · asked by Cruisin'=^_^=Cat 5 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=52711
2007-07-23 13:01:40 · update #1
It's not a hate crime - you two simply had a clash of beliefs and one of you went overboard. It's only a hate crime if the attack was racially motivated.
[Quote from Wikipedia (LINK)] -- "Hate crimes (also known as bias crimes) are crimes motivated by bias against an identifiable social group, usually groups defined by race, religion, sexual orientation, disability, ethnicity, nationality, age, gender, gender identity, or political affiliation."
2007-07-23 12:55:50 · answer #1 · answered by ☆Bombastic☆ 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
By common usage of the term, yes.
By legal meaning of "hate crime" -- no. In the law, a hate crime is something that is already illegal (murder, assault, etc.) done based on hatred of an entire group.
Insulting someone is not a separate crime, so there cannot be a sentence enhancement to a non-crime.
Attacking someone based purely on insults is a crime, but it's not a hate crime since it's based on personal animus against the individual who insulted them, not against an entire group who might be superficially similar to that individual.
2007-07-23 19:57:32 · answer #2 · answered by coragryph 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I believe the law makes some provision for extreme provocation ("fighting words"), but, I'm no lawyer, and I'm not certain.
I'm afraid that whether a 'hate crime' was committed would depend on the particulars. But it would only be the one lashing out who'd be a candidate for it.
2007-07-23 19:58:12 · answer #3 · answered by B.Kevorkian 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You can't physically assault someone because they're yelling racial epithets at you. If the physical violence was motivated by racial hatred, then that would qualify as a hate crime, but if it was just motivated by being angry at the verbal abuse, then I think it'd just count as assault.
2007-07-23 19:55:58 · answer #4 · answered by TheOrange Evil 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Assault is assault. I dont know where this "hate crime" stuff originated from, but we are way to politically correct in this country. You strike someone, does not matter of race, sex, or religion, that is assault.
2007-07-23 19:57:10 · answer #5 · answered by Coach 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
These days everthing is a hate crime.
2007-07-23 19:53:24 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
yes it sounds like it hun
2007-07-23 19:57:53 · answer #7 · answered by jane s 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋