Hate Crimes Going To Be Federal Law

I've never liked "hate crimes laws". I don't think that punishing people for their thoughts is wise. It complicates the uncomplicated: Evil.

If somebody beats a person to death, why must their motivation be questioned? Isn't killing a person enough in and of itself?

If I'm accosted on the street and beaten by Dave, then Dave faces jail time; but if Dave shouts "nigger" or "faggot" while he beats me, that somehow makes it what? Worse? More wrong? More illegal? More detrimental to society as a whole? Does it even matter if I'm not black or gay?

Age isn't covered in the new or existing hate crimes legislation. If Tom murders my father because he hates old people... then what? Tom hasn't commited a hate crime because age simply isn't "on the list"?

But, if my father is walking with a cane at the time, then he's a hate crime victim because of physical disability which is on the list, right? Or does Tom have to shout, "Die you cripple!" before it becomes a hate crime?

What if Bob beats up a gay person, and yells "faggot" while he does it... but he doesn't really hate gay people? How can Bob prove he doesn't actually hate gay people, and is therefore innocent (at least) of the charge of "hate crime"?

What if Steve beats up a black person while yelling "nigger" and is himself black? Can "hate crime" automatically be dismissed against Steve because no black person could hate black people? Go ahead and prove to me Steve doesn't or can't hate black people.

Do you see the problem here? Hate crimes target thoughts: either those voiced or somehow presumed based on actions taken. It is generally impossible... at least without reasonable doubt... to know a person's thoughts.

Some people will think I'm missing the point: Hate crimes are supposed to be a deterrent; they are supposed to make people think twice before targeting some minority for crime. They are supposed to provide justice to an entire community because when "hate crimes" are committed, they instill fear and anguish in the entire [black / gay / Jewish / French / female / paraplegic] community as well.

That's fine on the surface, but all crimes against a community scare that community. If someone is murdering Chinese people in a city, Chinese people have every right to be scared... but why should the relief the Chinese community experiences be any different when that person is caught... if it is proven that that person's crimes were somehow not "hate crimes"? Will the Chinese community be better served, better protected, or more satisfied by punishing "Sergio Gonzalez" more severely than "Wu Li Hong" for the same crime?

More importantly, there are constitutional considerations to be made as well: First off is equal protection under the law. Does unequal punishment depending on the victim of the crime constitute unequal protection of victims of otherwise equal crimes? It does if the possibility of being charged with a Hate Crime deters somebody from committing that crime against one person but not another. Does punishing Sergio more for the same crime than Wu constitute unequal treatment under the law? It does if both... for whatever reason... were specifically targeting Chinese people because of their race.

And really: Does a hate crimes law really deter hate crimes? Does the prospect of 10 years in jail deter a criminal whereas 5 years might not? Does a Hate Crime law cure racism or homophobia? Does a person, when overcome with bigotry and xenophobia, stop to ponder legal ramifications before exploding in violent rage?

Maybe violent criminals now will know to keep their mouths shut when they set out to go gay bashing, or Jew hunting, or lynching... so that they don't incriminate themselves as being really hateful and evil bastards... instead of just average, run-of-the-mill bastards. After all, if — by their lack of incriminating statements to the contrary — they can claim that they would rob / beat / rape / murder anybody they could get their hands on, regardless of race, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, or gender, who's to argue? And as an added benefit... won't all of the blacks, Chinese, Muslims, gays, and women feel better with those equal-opportunity reassurances?