"When national LGBT groups rely on political projects that further hate crimes legislation, they are feeding the prison industrial complex. Hate crimes legislation is punitive in that it is only enacted after someone is harmed or murdered. This does not tackle the structural roots of transphobia or homophobia but simply puts people who are found guilty of committing these crimes behind bars. As numerous studies have shown, prison systems are ineffectual at “reforming” criminals, deterring or decreasing crime, and reconciling the victims of crime. Therefore, hate crimes legislation does not benefit anyone. Passing hate crimes legislation to protect queer folks after they have been harmed is only feeding a racist, classist, and transphobic/homophobic industry that disproportionately targets and punishes those with the fewest resources. Moreover, relying on a punitive system to hold an individual accountable for their crime promotes more oppressive violence: Individuals are simply locked up, not actively educated about or engaged in repairing the harm they have created; they are further divided from their families and support networks, perpetuating more damage, isolation, and devastation within their communities; and the system upholds the legacy of racism and classism that is and has been so prevalent throughout all aspects of the criminal justice system. Acknowledging, targeting, and punishing perpetrators of anti-transgender violence is necessary but must also be placed within a larger context of the growing prison industrial complex."
Lori A. Saffin - Identities Under Seige: Violence Against Transpersons of Color in Captive Genders: Trans Embodiment and the Prison Industrial Complex (via locomotives)
