Re: What is the point of hate laws?

On Apr 17, 1:12=A0am, RichD <r_delaney2...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> On Apr 13, Al ****ba <williamhubb...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>
> > >http://www.rense.com/general81/sud.htm
>
> > Hatecrime laws seek to regulate thought. they are bull****e!
> > If someone brains someone with a ball peren hammer, does
> > screaming "I love you!" really mitigate the crime?
>
> i) =A0A motorist runs through a stop sign by
> accident, causing you injury.
>
> ii) =A0A motorist deliberately hits you with
> his vehicle, causing the same injury.
>
> Should he be face the same penalty in
> both cases?
>
> --
> Rich

I'm not a lawyer but I'm under the impression that hate laws were
enacted in order to move the jurisdiction of certain crimes from local
law enforcement to Federal enforcement.  This was done because some
believed that hate crimes sometimes echoed local prejudices and that
perpetrators were more likely to escape appropriate punishment when
enforcement was done at the local level.