Hate is a Crime

ALl forms of violent crime, whether they are murders, rapes, or beating are an expression of hatred towards another human being. To add more punishment to a crime because it represents a particular kind of hate is to unfairly distinguish between differnt violent acts and trivialize those violent acts that do not appear to be motivated by hate, Such a distinction is also very hard to assess in a trial; there is a danger of unjustly branding someone as bigoted and punishin them excessivley, e.g. for their involvement in a bar fight where the victime coincidentally belonged to a minority group.