I wish I could sit down with legislators from time to time and explain to them the concept of federalism – I honestly don’t think that Representatives such as Stephen Sandstrom (R – Orem – District 58) understand the concept of local, state, and federal laws.
You see, Sandstrom is proposing HB 432 – Hate Crime Amendments. This bill states that if a hate crime takes place on state or local property, the state will not transfer the criminal to federal agents. So, if you beat up a gay guy in Utah, don’t worry, you won’t actually have to face the charges.
Aside from how horrific this bill is on the face (ignoring hate crime legislation) think about the greater ramifications. We are basically saying that the state of Utah can pick and choose what federal laws it will follow.
This has happened before – ultimately it lead to a civil war. Brash? Not really. If Utah can choose what laws to follow, why can’t I do the same? We have laws for a reason and we simply do not have the luxury of ignoring them because we don’t like them.
This is a bad bill because it sets a precedent that we really don’t want to go down. It should fail…unless I can pick and choose what laws I want to follow.
