The Federal Bureau of Investigation defines a hate crime as, "a traditional offense like murder, arson, or vandalism with an added element of bias. For the purposes of collecting statistics, the FBI has defined a hate crime as a "criminal offense against a person or property motivated in whole or in part by an offender's bias against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender, or gender identity." Hate itself is not a crime-and the FBI is mindful of protecting freedom of speech and other civil liberties" (FBI). When reading this definition, it is clear to understand why so many are against hate crimes. Hate crimes are a direct stab, whether that be literally or metaphorical, at a group of human beings. Any sane and empathetic person would air on the side of being against hate crimes. Hate crime laws are designed to deter bias-motivated crimes, and the federal hate crime statute allows for the government to help victims of these crimes. The United States is well-known for its freedom of speech and free beliefs. While hate speech is accepted, the criminal and law-breaking actions are what break the two apart. In 1968 when Congress and President …show more content…
"The hate crime law movement re-criminalizes conduct that is already criminal. In effect, it creates a hierarchy of victims-one based upon the group identities of perpetrators and victims, as long as prosecutors can prove a bias motive. Thus, from the beginning, hate crime laws have simply given us something else to argue about: whose victimization should be punished more severely" (TIME). While this point is extremely necessary and valid, laws are in place for a reason. Laws create an understanding of what is acceptable in one's place of living. Through hate crime laws, a blanket understanding of what is allowed, and illegal is known by