Hate crime protection undermines equality

In a landmark case, Allen Andrade has been convicted of first-degree murder for the bludgeoning death of Angie Zapata and sentenced to life without parole. The murder conviction wasn't too much of a surprise, because there was so much evidence against him, as well as the part where he confessed. The surprise was that it took the jury only two hours to reach a verdict, and to brand the killing as a hate crime. Andrade is the first in the States to be convicted and sentenced in a hate crime against a transgender person.

In 2005, Colorado added "transgender" status to its list of groups under the protection of "bias-motivated crimes," also known as hate crimes. Colorado is not alone in its thinking. While most, if not all, states who have hate crime statutes offer protection for gay and lesbian citizens, transgender citizens are usually not included. New Hampshire recently passed a discrimination law adding the language "gender identity" and "gender expression," and earlier this week, the New York Assembly passed the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act.

On the one hand, I see these changes as steps forward in our justice system. Groups of people who have been historically mistreated and harassed are now protected under the law. But the whole concept of hate crimes smacks of unconstitutionality to me. "Equal Protection" should be just that- equal. I don't agree that certain groups should have added protection simply because they're different. I realize this view is not shared by many in the GLBT community. But I can't help but feel that if gay people ever want to be equal, they've got to stop hiding behind the law. How can we claim that marriage should be equal and protected for all citizens, and at the same time claim that a person who is harmed because of his sexual orientation deserves different treatment? I don't know that a straight person killed because of his orientation would be afforded the same courtesy.

It's a sticky situation. I acknowledge that our society as a whole doesn't seem to be ready to accept the GLBT community as mainstream. I understand that there are citizens out there who feel the need to force their opinions upon those with whom they disagree. But I also think that if the GLBT community wants equality, they're going to have to give up the special protections.