The news out of Washington D.C. earlier today was chilling. At 10:45 this morning an angry man shouting negative slurs about pro-family activity in the Family Research Council lobby opened fire and wounded a security guard. Floyd Corkins II was subdued and taken into custody. "But he was such a nice man" his neighbors insisted. Isn’t that always the case when someone goes off the deep end?
Interestingly, the news reported that Corkins was carrying a bag from Chick fil-A. Was the chicken a little too spicy? Or was it Dan Cathy’s inflammatory remarks about marriage being between one man and one woman that drove him to violence? Whatever the cause, a hate crime apparently was committed. Corkins, a 28-year old volunteer at a local Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Center, was clearly driven to commit violence against people who held views he opposed. So why isn’t their clamor for him to be prosecuted for a hate crime? Because, there are no hate crimes protections for groups that hold timeless values of marriage and human sexuality. Maybe Washington D.C. leaders should consider updating their law. Or maybe they should drop the hate-crime thing altogether and realize that a crime is a crime regardless of the motivation and who its perpetrated against.