Don’t Tolerate Intolerance, but It’s OK to Hate the Hate Laws

So Bill Lockyer thinks Orange County has “a lot to do to catch up with the rest of the world” in understanding hate crimes, huh?

I know what many of you who live busy lives are thinking: Just who is this Bill Lockyer guy?

Uh, California’s attorney general. So what he says about crime does count for something.

Lockyer’s comment was aimed at the Orange County district attorney’s office, which, according to him, filed hate-crime charges in only a few of 11 cases presented to it by police.

In any 100 disputes between Democrat Lockyer and the Republican-dominated Orange County D.A.’s office, I’d probably be on Lockyer’s side 99 times.

Well, this is the other one.

I had a sneaking hunch Lockyer hadn’t reviewed the cases, which Lockyer spokeswoman Sandra Michioku confirmed.

She says Lockyer was going by the numbers given to him, and that while he concedes there may be explanations for Orange County’s figures, “seeing the percentages were low, [he felt] it does raise some questions,” Michioku said.

The main question it raises with me is why Lockyer would make such an inflammatory remark without knowing the particulars? Maybe he wants the D.A. to file hate-crime charges whenever asked.

That makes for crowd-pleasing politics, but what about the law?

It’s time now for my disclosure, which I’ve made a time or two in past columns: I don’t like hate-crime laws. I wouldn’t want to enforce them.

For that reason, I’m announcing today I will not run for district attorney next year.

My argument is that “hate” is a state of mind. In short, people shouldn’t be punished for their thoughts.

Most hate crimes involve a separate act such as vandalism or physical assault, and those deeds are punishable by other laws.

But California law also says that the “hate” behind the crime can be used to add to the sentences.

In addition, there’s another category of hate crime that doesn’t require a specific act of force--only the threat of it.

Every time I knock hate-crime laws, I hasten to add before the tomatoes come flying that society should condemn hate-motivated acts.

That can be done by the written or spoken word and come from police, prosecutors, judges, the media and anyone else.

I draw the line on linking hate to jail time.

Ironically, the unnamed target in Lockyer’s sights disagrees with me on hate-crime legislation.

Orange County Deputy Dist. Atty. Mike Fell reviews all hate-crime cases. He supports the concept but says he won’t file charges unless convinced the evidence is there.

Fell provided the figures Lockyer quoted and says he filed hate-crime charges in four of 11 cases given him in 2000.

“A crime motivated by hate is worthy of a harsher penalty,” Fell says. Asked why, he says, “because that’s something that we as a civil society should not tolerate, and tolerance is the key to living with one another in civilized society.”

Hate, he says, should be seen as an aggravating factor--a philosophy used to enhance sentences for other types of crime.

That echoes Rusty Kennedy, the county’s longtime head of the Human Relations Commission. He and I have argued this issue before, and I always agree with everything Kennedy says until he gets to the punch line: Hateful thought should be punishable if it’s the motivation behind committing a crime.

Kennedy, however, doesn’t subscribe to Lockyer’s critique of the D.A.’s office.

Not every “hater” who commits a crime has committed a hate crime, Kennedy says. The law is in place, he says, “to root out a cancer that has grown that we’ve been unaware of in our society. . . . Now we’re saying, ‘This is bad.’ ”

Kennedy and Fell speak out on hate crimes in various forums. I applaud their public service and join in condemning hate-motivated actions.

Now as for thoughts . . .

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Dana Parsons’ column appears Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Readers may reach Parsons by calling (714) 966-7821; by writing to him at The Times’ Orange County edition, 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626; or by e-mail at dana.parsons@latimes.com.