[mrh2008]

I live about 1/4 mile from this gas station and frequently buy my beer there, they've got 6 packs for $3.99! Anyways, i remember this story being on the local news for about a week straight just after 9/11 but i was too young to really understand what happened there, and just today i ran across this article on the hate-crime murder of Balbir Singh Sodhi (the gas station owner), because some nutcase thought he was an islamic extremist. I believe the same family still owns the gas station and they are pretty friendly towards me considering that i'm a big, white, American and i wear my "big black gun" everywhere i go. The man that murdered the owner was a big, white, American that had a gun. However, i dont carry for the purpose of killing anyone that i dont like, the sole reason that i carry is for protection of myself and my family against crazy people like Frank Roque.

Here's what i found.

Mesa, Arizona, Sep 15, 2001


Balbir Singh Sodhi (1949 - September 15, 2001) was a Mesa, Arizona, gas station owner who was murdered in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks. On September 15, 2001, he was shot five times by a gunman (Frank Roque) and died instantly.

After shooting Balbir Singh Sodhi, Roque drove to a home that he'd sold to an Afghan family near 32nd Street and Broadway Road and opened fire, but missed the people inside.

Then, he drove around the corner to a convenience store at Val Vista Drive and Broadway Road where a man of Lebanese descent was working. He fired shots through the window of the store but missed the man also.

Mesa police arrested Roque a few hours later as he yelled that he was a patriot and an American.

Balbir Singh Sodhi, 49, of Mesa, an immigrant from India, wore a turban as expression of his Sikh faith and was shot because Roque mistakenly identified him as Middle Eastern.


Monday's high court decision upheld the jury's convictions, despite acknowledging misconduct on the part of prosecutors, but commuted the jury's death sentence.

Such commutations are rare in Arizona. Later the death sentence was transformed to life in prison for Rogue.

Rana Singh Sodhi, 39 youngest brother of Balbir Singh said he hopes people understand that the life sentence still shows that society will not tolerate hate crimes and the murders of innocent people.

Balbir Singh was known by friends and neighbors as a quiet, gentle man. He practiced the Sikh values of help other and share with others. Children told reporters how Balbir Singh would let them buy candy from his store, even if they didn’t have enough money. The homeless shed tears as they recounted tales of his generosity to them. And neighbors came by the hundreds with candles, flowers, pictures and words to honor his noble memory. The neighborhood response to Balbir Singh’s passing has galvanized the entire Phoenix community.

[Airbornemama]

that is a sad state of affair's,

[wally246]

Sad!

[ChockFullOfChock]

I never got the whole 'hate crime' thing. Seems absurd to me that murdering for hate is somehow different to regular murder.

[Black Knight]

Thanks for sharing and I applaud your tolerance and discipline with your sidearm.

It is stupid people like this that give Americans and legal gun owners a bad name.

[vnathan]

Sikh people are great people....They always help us out in need.
When I was in Kuwait during the time Saddam invaded (I was just a wee baby) all of us were evacuated by our Government temporarily to Jordan. There the Sikh community received us with great hospitality, cooked super food for us and gave us shelter until we moved backed to India for the remainder of Saddams occupation.

[mrh2008]

Originally Posted by ChockFullOfChock ↗

I never got the whole 'hate crime' thing. Seems absurd to me that murdering for hate is somehow different to regular murder.

IMO there is a diference. "hate-murder" = "You're homosexual and shouldnt be allowed to live, so i am going to kill you." "regular murder" = "give me your purse.(then a shot is fired)" not calling you gay, just an example.

[ChockFullOfChock]

Originally Posted by mrh2008 ↗

IMO there is a diference. "hate-murder" = "You're homosexual and shouldnt be allowed to live, so i am going to kill you." "regular murder" = "give me your purse.(then a shot is fired)" not calling you gay, just an example.

The thing is, how do you differentiate that? I could kill a gay man and by simply taking his watch, change the entire crime. Pandora's box if ever there was one.

[mrh2008]

Originally Posted by ChockFullOfChock ↗

The thing is, how do you differentiate that? I could kill a gay man and by simply taking his watch, change the entire crime. Pandora's box if ever there was one.

the reason why you killed the man is what sets it aside, if you killed a gay man for the sole purpose of stealing his watch, then its plain old murder. if you killed the same man because you hate homosexuals, then decide "he's dead, im gunna take his watch also" that is a hate crime. killing someone because of there religion, skin color, race, sex, etc... is what sets it apart from a regular murder.

[mrh2008]

Originally Posted by ChockFullOfChock ↗

The thing is, how do you differentiate that? I could kill a gay man and by simply taking his watch, change the entire crime. Pandora's box if ever there was one.

I have a question. Do you believe that this crime was commited solely out of hate for a particular religion? He shot at several different people whom he believed to be of the Islamic faith because terrorists of the Islamic faith caried out a plot for mass murder in our country, do you agree? He hated people of the Islamic religion and targeted those who he thought to be islamic. It would be different if he was mad about 9/11 and went and killed a Catholic, Mormon, and a jew, but instead he targeted a specific group out of hatred for that group of people, is that corect?