Liberty and equality through freedom of expression: The human rights questions behind ‘Hate Crime’ laws

Abstract

This article discusses how maximising freedom of expression increases both liberty and equality. The article focuses on the rationale that is used by many western societies to enact laws to prevent what is termed a ‘hate crime’. A hate crime is usually defined as an offence that is motivated by an offender's beliefs about an immutable characteristic of the victim, such as race, sex, religion, or national origin. The proponents of hate crime laws often believe that restraints on expression, such as racist speech, are justified as a means by which to reduce bigotry and its by product ‐ discrimination. However, in this article, the author concludes that hate crime laws actually diminish liberty and equality and adversely affect a vastly disproportionate number of minority group members. Indeed, actually, hate crime laws may promote a perception of inequality, because they permit more severe punishments for offenders solely on the basis of the race, sex, religion, or national origin of offenders’ victims.