Jim Hennigan

  EDITOR’S NOTE: The U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to vote this week on legislation that would strengthen federal hate crime law to include sexual orientation and gender identity.  In this essay, Not In Our Town Network member Jim Hennigan reflects on his beliefs about hate crime laws. A Crime By Any Other Name Nominally speaking, I hate “hate crime” laws. By Jim Hennigan It wasn’t until May 2007 that I gave much thought to the notion of so-called “hate crime” legislation and why people feel so strongly about it. That was when Sean Kennedy was killed in Greenville, South Carolina, the town I called home. More significantly, May 2007 was when it seemed like everyone who followed the local news formed an opinion about “hate crime” laws. South Carolina was one of four states that did not – and does not – have hate crime laws on the books. Depending on how you leaned, Sean Kennedy’s death was either an opportunity or a threat that could upset that status quo. That’s because Sean Kennedy was a young gay man who – according to the police warrant issued at the time of the attack that resulted in his death – was beaten because “of the defendant (Stephen Moller) not liking the sexual identity of the victim.”