Defending free speech means defeating HB 1076

Indiana House Bill 1076 adds hate crime provisions to Indiana's legal system.

Specifically HB 1076, "Requires law enforcement officers to receive training in identifying, responding to, and reporting bias crimes." Requiring Indiana's police to be subjected to the subjective philosophy of multiculturalism should be, in itself, reason to defeat the bill."

HB 1076 also "Allows an individual who suffers a personal injury or property damage caused by a criminal offense to bring a civil action to recover damages, including punitive damages, if the person who committed the offense knowingly or intentionally selected the victim because of specified" racial or behavioral peculiarity.

In other words, if a black guy mutters "cracker" while robbing a white guy, the white guy can bring civil action against the black guy. However, if the white guy calls the black guy "cracker" during a hold up, the black guy has no cause for civil action since "cracker" is not deemed a racial slur when passing from white to black.

Some worry that the speech, alone, will constitute a crime. Because the legislation includes the behavior characteristics of sexual orientation and gender identity, it is suspected that the law would be used by gays to sue critics who cause them emotional discomfort.

Classes of persons identified by HB 1076 are victim's actual or perceived:

• color
• creed
• disability
• national origin
• race
• religion
• sexual orientation
• gender identity
• sex
• homelessness

Not covered are:

• hair color
(Assaulting a blond while telling a blond joke will bear no addition risk of liability.)

• state origin
(Hating someone from Mexico is wrong; hating someone from New Mexico is ok.)

• age
(Mugging the elderly will still be illegal, but uttering slurs such as "geester" and "curmudgeon" will not lead to civil action.)

• attractiveness (Robbing people because you think they are ugly will carry no additional liability. You may even say, "you're ugly" while you snatch the victim's MasterCard.)

• intelligence
(Saying "dumb blond" during a purse snatching will also be perfectly OK.)

• atheism
(While faith-based muggings are included, attacking someone for not being religious bears no additional consequence. Or is believing nothing a creed?)

• home style
(Homeless victims may seek punitive damages if targeted specifically because of their homelessness. Residents of YMCAs, flop houses, rescue missions and card board boxes, however, will be exempt from the law's provisions.)

Read the bill here ►