What is a "hate" crime, and what makes it any different than another crime? If I kill you, I am committing murder. I should be sentenced accordingly. Does it matter that I killed you because I hate blondes? Nope. You are just as dead, and I am just as responsible for it. I see no difference. My reasoning or intent makes very little difference. Should I be punished more harshly because you were black? Or gay? or whatever you want to insert as your "abomination"..?? Not to me.

Some years ago, during an interview with "W", cannot recall if he was president yet or not..a reporter asked him why he was against a hate crime bill introduced in Texas. They were refering to a case where a couple of people killed a gay man outside a bar somewhere..cannot recall all of the details of the case..But, his reaction was something along the lines that ...we sentenced the murderers to death, how much harsher could we have been?...

I tend to agree. Murder is punishable with death in the country, though that does not often happen. Well, what should the penalty be if you "hated" the victim? If you targeted that victim becuase of their "affliction". The downside is that once you enact such a law you can use if to punish any murder. You cannot be said to love anyone that you kill..there can be some hate uncovered in anything.

I am a proponent of harsh punishment. I feel that life/death sentences should be imposed on ANY crime that was perpetrated with malicious intent. Rape should be punishable with the death sentence in certain cases. Dead victim or not. Child rape especially.

For those of you who believe in a "hate crime" law, please explain your thoughts. Why should there be a difference? Just so it can go on the books as a hate crim? Does it change some statistics that provide more policemen? better government funding? Why isn't malicious murder a good enough description of a crime?

The true problem here is the lack of punishment for the crimes we do have..Not that there is not enough laws or compartments to put criminal behaviour into.