Gov. Jerry Brown vetoes homeless protection bill

Source: San Francisco Chronicle

Legislation aimed at discouraging attacks against the homeless, by expanding their right to compensation when they are targeted for assault, was vetoed Friday by Gov. Jerry Brown, who said the move was unnecessary.

The bill, AB312 by Assemblywoman Bonnie Lowenthal, D-Long Beach, would have added homelessness to the categories covered by a California civil rights law that allows victims of hate-based violence to seek damages without going to court.

The categories include race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, age, disability, marital status, political opinion and position in a labor dispute.

A person who is assaulted or threatened for one of those reasons can file a complaint with the state Department of Fair Employment and Housing, which can award damages of up to $150,000, plus a $25,000 penalty. Someone who decides to sue in court can win compensation for actual losses, plus $25,000, punitive damages and attorneys' fees.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/08/06/BAKM1KK2FV.DTL

re: politics or a labor dispute? I thought protected categories were about religion and things beyond your control, like skin color, ethnicity and orientation.

The Nazis, for instance, liquidated nearly everybody who was a member of the Social Democratic Party once they seized power. Many socialists were exterminated in prison camps run by Francisco Franco during the Spanish Civil War and the following decades under his rule. They're still discovering mass graves in Spain. The price for holding certain sets of beliefs can be exceedingly high, sadly.

What if the hate crime attackers live in a trailer park, flip burgers for a living and have no money?

One should not assume that all hate crime assailants are rich kids from the suburbs.

should they ever come into money, away it would go.

Is to fuck our piggy banks.

Administrative tribunals should not be given these quasi-judicial powers, ever.

Sounds like a graft and corruption machine waiting to happen. How many people would beat themselves up and then claim they were a victim of a "hate" crime?

In his veto message Friday, Brown said, "It is undeniable that homeless people are vulnerable to victimization, but California already has very strong civil and criminal laws that provide sufficient protection."

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/08/05/BAKM1KK2FV.DTL#ixzz1UKXKoON1