Why Create Laws Against Hate Crime?
Some groups oppose the existence of hate crimes, maintaining that regular laws against assault and violence protect all citizens, regardless of their color, ethnicity, religious beliefs, gender, or sexual orientation. Therefore, they believe, a special category of crime is not needed as further protection. However, when it enacted the Hate Crimes Act of 2000, the New York State Legislature found that: Hate crimes do more than threaten the safety and welfare of all citizens…Hate crimes can and do intimidate and disrupt entire communities…Current law does not adequately recognize the harm to public order and individual safety that hate crimes cause. Therefore, our laws must be strengthened to provide clear recognition of the gravity of hate crimes and the compelling importance of preventing their recurrence. Accordingly, the legislature finds and declares that hate crimes should be prosecuted and punished with appropriate severity. In 1993, the Supreme Court upheld the value of hate-crim
