Hate crimes are basically crimes committed against another person because of his or her race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, etc. Congress passed a law that gives people guilty of hate crimes a larger sentence. I'm against hate crime laws because they make people's thoughts and beliefs illegal, and that goes against the First Amendment of the Constitution, freedom of religion and freedom of speech.
So, the courts believe that murdering someone while saying racist remarks is worse then murdering someone while saying nothing at all. The First Amendment protects everyone, even people who say stuff that is stupid or that we don't agree with. Actually, all crimes are hate crimes because you must hate someone to commit a crime against them. Hate crimes are really just punishment for politically incorrect speech. They make thought a crime, and criminalize a person's thoughts and emotions. "This whole 'hate crimes' push is just the initial baby steps in a leftist attempt to codify political correctness." -Neal Boort
This was a big hate crime case: State v. Charles Apprendi, Jr. (A-164-1997)
Argued October 13, 1998 -- Decided June 24, 1999
Apprendi was arrested in December 1994 for shooting the home of a black family.
Apprendi stated to police that he was giving the family a message that because they were
black in color, they were not wanted in the neighborhood. Defendant pled guilty to two
counts of second-degree possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose and possession
of a prohibited weapon. The State reserved the right to make application under the hate
crimes law for imposition of an extended sentence.
He sentenced Apprendi on one of the unlawful-purpose counts to an extended
term of twelve years imprisonment with four years of parole ineligibility.
The court made the lesser sentences on the other counts concurrent with the extended term.On appeal, Apprendi argued tha...