PATTS AND BITES

Morrison is probably correct: Longer jail terms for hate crimes will not reduce the incidence of such crimes (“A Shot in the Dark,” Guest Bites Town, March 22). Unfortunately, she also delivers the message that any crime against a woman is a crime against women. If we are to classify every crime in which the victim is a woman as a hate crime, then how are we to effectively address the issue of racial, religious or sexual bigotry? Morrison would have us accept that an angry ex-husband beating his wife does so because she is a woman. Yes, she is, but that does not make the man a woman-hater. If he were to beat a smaller, weaker man in an argument over a business deal gone sour, would he then necessarily be a man-hater? Violent, dangerous, for sure, maybe even psychopathic, but not a de facto hate criminal.

KEVIN P. KELLY

Montrose