Slain Gay Student and Hate Crimes

* In April we visited the Supreme Court; above the entrance we noted the inscription “equal justice under the law.” Monday we learned of the death of Matthew Shepard. Tuesday we learned how the Supreme Court has again declined to address the unequal justice for gay Americans.

When will they--the justices, Congress, the states, the supposedly moral right--get it? As long as the inequities in law, the slurs from the floors of Congress and the attacks from the supposedly Christ-like religious right continue, they encourage and by default give their stamp of approval to such heinous attacks and murders as suffered by Shepard.

Shame on us all.

RON and SAIN SQUIER-MAYORAL

Altadena

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Re George Will’s column, “Whatever the Reason, Murder Is Murder,” and Michael Ramirez’s cartoon, “Every murder is a hate crime,” Commentary, Oct. 14:

Of course there are different motives in a murder! This is why we differentiate the varying degrees of murder. To suggest anything else is to obscure the meaning of this particular crime. Now, what would be Will’s or Ramirez’s motive in that? Shameful!

ERIC FITZGERALD

Topanga

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What is or isn’t a “hate” crime, and why should penalties for one differ from penalties for the same act of violence or property damage committed for reasons not demonstrable as involving “hate”? Why don’t the many crimes involving what is classically considered hate, but that do not involve a male Caucasian as the criminal, receive the same publicity as those that do?

And is Robert Scheer guilty of hateful libel against the religious right (Column Left, Oct. 13) for bringing them into the picture of the terrible Shepard murder based on no more evidence than his own demonstrated prejudice against the conservative Christian movement?

MEL WOLF

Burbank

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In the wake of the killing of the young man in Wyoming, a call goes out across the land for laws against hate crimes. There is no similar cry for condemnation of speech provoking such crimes. Were it in my power, I would sentence Trent Lott and Pat Robertson to sit in the front row behind the defendants for the duration of the trial for the murder of Shepard.

LOUIS M. ST. MARTIN

Pomona