Hate_Crime

A highly political issue within the United States.

Loosely defined, a hate crime is a crime commited to someone

or someone's property because the criminal has a bias/hatred

of the gender/race/sexual orientation of the victim.

Recent U.S. legislation has defined a number of crimes and circumstances under which they may be committed such that, typically, hate crimes carry longer penalties/jail terms

than the same crime prosecuted under normal criminal statutes.

Those who are opposed to hate crime legislation argue that such legislation punishes ideas, which is not permissible under the strong protections given by the First Amendment. If assault carries a 5 year sentence, but a hate-crime assault carries a 10 year sentence, then is the extra 5 years a penalty for hating?

Many people mistakenly think that hate crimes are commited

against one group of people exclusively. Hate crimes have

been prosecuted against all races/genders/sexual orientations.

A generic example of a hate crime would be a criminal that

steals money only from females because the criminal hates

females.

The Southern Poverty Law Center does amazing stuff for the past and future victems of Hate Crime