Hate Crimes

One of the more controversial and misunderstood pieces of legislation has been hate crimes. I have heard it said that most crimes are already motivated by some hate and why should we treat them differently if crime affects a protected group of people.

First of all, most crimes are motivated by greed, selfishness or anger. This is atrocious enough, but a crime that is committed simply because of whom a person is, how they perceive the world or the color of skin is particularly egregious. Hate crimes tear at our social fabric the foundations of freedom. Hate crime laws protect the freedom to think and act on our own understanding of the world without fears of intimation or harm from others who may see things differently. These laws add additional penalties to those criminals who would harm another simply because of country of origin, religion or physical appearance.

The definition of a hate crime is any unlawful action designed to frighten or harm an individual or group which is motivated because of race, religion, ethnic/national origin, sexual orientation, gender or disability of the victim. It is not a hate crime if a gay person is robbed at gunpoint.

What you can do if a victim of a hate crime:

• Report the incident immediately to the police.
• Protect yourself, if possible attempt to defuse the situation, and do not respond to taunts.
• As soon as practical write down the physical descriptions of the offender(s) in as much detail as possible.
• As soon as practical write down what was said and done, including date and times.
• Get involved, be a witness if someone else is a victim of a crime.

Individuals that commit crimes motivated by hate truly victimize us all.