The Volokh Conspiracy - Anti-Semitic Murder (and Attempted Multiple Murder) in Seattle:

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports:

Six women were shot -- one fatally -- this afternoon at the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle by a man who told a witness he was upset about "what was going on in Israel." ...

"We believe it's a lone individual acting out his antagonism," said David Gomez, who heads the FBI's counterterrorism efforts in Seattle....

"He said 'I am a Muslim American, angry at Israel,' before opening fire on everyone," [Marla] Meislin-Dietrich[, who works at the center,] said. "He was randomly shooting at everyone." ...

Pajamas Media has a round-up; thanks to InstaPundit for the pointer.

The law should, I think, treat such crimes with the same severity as it would a similar crime motivated just by a desire to kill random people. While I think many laws that enhance penalties for crimes in which victims are chosen based on race, religion, sexual orientation, and the like are constitutional, I think they are unwise and draw a moral distinction that strikes me as on balance inadequate (not irrational by any means, but on balance inadequate). Nonetheless it certainly makes sense that we would notice these crimes for what they are -- manifestations of ethnic hatred that needs to be recognized in order to be fought.

	[Eugene Volokh, July 29, 2006 at 12:39am] Trackbacks Anti-Semitic Murder (and Attempted Multiple Murder) in Seattle: The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports: Six women were shot -- one fatally -- this afternoon at the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle by a man who told a witness he was upset about "what was going on in Israel." ... "We believe it's a lone individual acting out his antagonism," said David Gomez, who heads the FBI's counterterrorism efforts in Seattle.... "He said 'I am a Muslim American, angry at Israel,' before opening fire on everyone," [Marla] Meislin-Dietrich[, who works at the center,] said. "He was randomly shooting at everyone." ... Pajamas Media has a round-up; thanks to InstaPundit for the pointer. The law should, I think, treat such crimes with the same severity as it would a similar crime motivated just by a desire to kill random people. While I think many laws that enhance penalties for crimes in which victims are chosen based on race, religion, sexual orientation, and the like are constitutional, I think they are unwise and draw a moral distinction that strikes me as on balance inadequate (not irrational by any means, but on balance inadequate). Nonetheless it certainly makes sense that we would notice these crimes for what they are -- manifestations of ethnic hatred that needs to be recognized in order to be fought.