You raise a number of issues. First, if armed burglar/s put you in reasonable fear of great bodily harm or death in your home you get to defend yourself. Their race etc makes no difference. They are burglars. You didn’t shoot them because of who they are but because they are a reasonable threat. You aren’t the aggressor.
The issue arises when the aggressor is targeting the victim BASED upon characteristics over which he has no control. You’d have a hard time concluding that a random black guy being killed by a group of white guys wearing sheets and burning a cross in his front yard isn’t a hate crime. The burden of proof is on the prosecutor to prove all the elements of the crime, including the additional element that the crime was motivated by racial animus. In order to prove state of mind you can use direct evidence or circumstantial evidence. Circumstantial evidence carries the same weight as direct evidence. Example: you see it snowing, direct evidence. You wake up in the morning and all the neighbors are shoveling cold white stuff the circumstances indicate it snowed. Normally motive is not an element of the crime but if you plead (allege) that the motive is important then you have to prove motive, which CAN be done by circumstantial evidence. By your reasoning it wouldn’t be any different to kill someone in a car crash no matter what the underlying circumstances. Dead is dead, however the law contemplates differences. Driving drunk at 100mph the wrong way on a one way while blindfolded will be treated differently than if you were distracted by answering a call on your cell phone. While Vehicular Homicide doesn’t require intent these cases would be treated differently. Finally, the prosecutor does not have to prove all the elements beyond any shadow of a doubt. The jury instructions would lay all this out for the jurors. If the defense is that aliens came to earth and forced you to commit the crime you wouldn’t have a reasonable doubt. Sure, anything can happen but it is not reasonable to believe it was aliens.

I think the issue is shooting someone in the leg because of an immutable characteristic. Shooting someone who is Asian because they are Asian, as an example.

Jurys decide these issues every day. It’s not rocket science.

Convert the card to cash and buy contraband. Happens 24/7/365 in every state in the US.

Watched a news segment about the pre-paid debit cards being handed out to non citizens (illegal aliens) followed by an ad seeking money for veterans disabled in service to our country. How can we accept this as a country?

I tested the airbag and seatbelt combo on the wife’s Honda Accord. I’m a big fan of them now.

The penalty for committing a crime against a particularly vulnerable victim or where there is a special relationship or duty can be enhanced. That is a different concept than assault on a specifically enumerated race, religion, or orientation. I’d be interested to see what the actual statute says in whatever state this occurred. I completely agree with a more serious penalty for this kind of cowardly act, in fact the first murder case I was involved in was the result of two teenagers knocking down an elderly woman during a purse snatching. Horrible event that was instrumental in helping me decide the course of my career.

Not enough facts to analyze it as a hate crime. Crimes are defined by the elements. One element in Assault is that it is a harmful or offensive touching (battery) or putting one in reasonable fear of an assault. To be a hate crime the victim must be a member of a protected class as defined by statute. That is the missing element in your scenario.

This is why elections matter. Elect your prosecutor with car or you’ll end up with DA’s like Gascogne or Bragg or Willis or, well you know what I mean.

.22

As a film and digital shooter my advice is to put the Minolta on a place where it is displayed as a reminder of all the wonderful memories of time spent with Papaw. Film is much more difficult and expensive than digital. There are few, if any advantages to using film. For the cost of film, processing and printing a single roll of film you’ve spent enough to buy an SD card that will hold thousands of shots on your digital. Film will take a week at least to view. The learning curve is steep and results are iffy.
The digital gives you instant feedback. There is a drugstore on every corner that will print the shots while you wait. Your first order of business is to learn the features and functions on your digital camera. You don’t mention where you live-urban or rural- but if you can, take a basic photo class at an adult learning center or community college. In my home town one of the studio owners taught a class with guest speakers from other pros. If that won’t fit into your presumably busy life there are literally thousands of YouTube videos that teach digital photography. Look around and pick an instructor whose style coincides with the delivery suitable to your learning style. Take your time and learn what they are teaching. Start with the basic functions of your camera and build your knowledge base. Once you can operate the camera you can learn about composition and post processing.
The use of a cell phone was mentioned and is a good idea. I just returned from a Nile river cruise. I took a very expensive camera and lens, took a couple thousand shots. My favorite picture of the trip was from the wife’s 10 year old iPhone. It is a selfie of her in a hot air balloon over the Valley of the Kings. She had a pretty big smile. She could have sent the image to the family thousands of miles away back in Montana, and Washington and all in a matter of seconds. Pretty handy.
Once you have a good grasp of your digital camera and the lens that is on it then consider exploring that film camera. I know your mom wants you to use the film camera but now is not the time.
Good luck with your learning. Keep asking questions and enjoy.

Settled for RRS?

Or take her own broom.

One of our sheriffs from years ago announced that his deputies now had a quota for traffic stops. Traffic accidents slowed way down for a while. There really was never a quota for tickets, hundreds of warnings and an opportunity to meet people who had warrants. Win-win… unless you had a warrant.

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