Does North Dakota need hate crime laws? Conservative Rob Port, activist Wess Philome and defense attorney Mark Friese debate it

Participate in the conversation below by entering your name and then comment. No need to create an account.

A Fargo/Moorhead mosque was vandalized with racial slurs and Nazi imagery recently . That and other incidents have led some to call for new hate crime policies in North Dakota.

Fargo City Commissioner Arlette Preston is calling for a new ordinance in her community.

The editorial board of the Fargo Forum has also called for new statewide policies in North Dakota .

But do these policies work? Do they actually deter hate crimes? Would they stand in the way of the criminal justice system producing just outcomes?

• Read more columns from Rob Port

Wess Philome , an activist with OneFargo and the Black Lives Matter movement, wants new policies enacted.

Mark Friese , a practicing defense attorney with the Vogel Law Firm in Fargo, questions both the efficacy of such policies and the necessity.

These men join this episode of Plain Talk Live to discuss the issue.

All episodes of Plain Talk Live are also available on the Plain Talk podcast , which you can subscribe to by way of your favorite podcasting service.

To comment on this article, visit www.sayanythingblog.com

Rob Port, founder of SayAnythingBlog.com, is a Forum Communications commentator. Reach him on Twitter at @robport or via email at rport@forumcomm.com .