Why is there a definitive difference between a hate crime and normal crime?

#1 Buckeye Fan!!!!: Why is there a definitive difference between a hate crime and normal crime?
Is crime within races,or against majority races/ethnicities performed out of love? And why should the criminal in a hate crime be punished anymore than a criminal in a non hate crime? Why should the punishment be based upon the victim instead of the crime?
Regarding the first answer, I just can’t imagine the government deciding the way crimes affect people. As a white woman, if I’m raped by a white man, it may ruin my marriage. I may fear men altogether after that, and could never be intimate with another man. Different people are different regarding the way they handle things, and I don’t think it’s fair that just because I’m white, I get passed over as saying, “oh, she’ll be fine”, compared to someone of a different ethnicity. All crime should be looked at as “hate crime”. There should be severe punishment for it all. All crime is committed out of hate, wether it’s racial or personal. From a humane point of view, it’s not fair to the criminals for one to get worse treatment than another just because of who the victim was. And from a moral point of view, criminals need to know there are consequences to their actions, so they should all be punished to the fullest extent of the law dependent upon their actions.

Answers and Views:

Answer by Pretty_Trini_Rican
One issue that sets hate violence apart from other acts of violence is the psychological damage that it leaves behind.

Although any type of victimization carries with it psychological consequences, certain types of emotional reactions are more frequent among survivors of hate crimes.

These feelings include depression, anxiety, fear, stress, and anger. The American Psychological Association has determined that victims of hate crimes suffer the symptoms of post-traumatic stress for up to five years, in comparison to two years for victims of non-bias-related crimes.

Survivors of hate crimes are less likely than victims of other types of violence to report attacks against them to the police. It has been estimated that up to 80% of bias-crimes are never reported to the authorities.

**Hate crime’ means a crime in which the defendant intentionally selects a victim, or in the case of a property crime, the property that is the object of the crime, because of the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, gender, disability, or sexual orientation of any person. I’m not defending or opposing your argument, I simply answered your question.**

Answer by lordkelvin
Hate crime is another word for thought control… We should not become a country where your thoughts are a crime.

Answer by Amy S
A crime is not a crime without criminal intent. The difference between a “normal” crime and a “hate” crime is found in the basis for the required intent. Hate crimes are offenses committed against a person (or their property, place of worship, etc), in which the race/sexuality/gender/religion of the victim is the sole impetous for the intent to commit the offense.

So… The impetous for the intent in a normal battery would be whatever it was that caused the defendant to choose to batter the victim. What was it that caused him to form criminal intent and carry out the battery? Did the victim cheat at cards? Park in front of his driveway? Say something hateful about his girlfriend?

A battery becomes a hate crime when the defendant doesn’t have a reason for commiting the battery other than the fact that the victim is of a certain race/gender/sexual persuasion, or religion.

The reason for the distinction? Title IX protects us against harrassment.. which is usually handled in the civil courts. The Hate Crime laws are the Criminal Court’s nod to victims of hate crime, acknowledging that harrassment can become criminal… and that hate-based crimes should have enhanced consequences.

It has nothing really to do with the victim, it has entirely to do with the level of prejudice found within the offender.. and whether or not that unconstitutional hatred for a certain type of person is worthy of enhanced penalty.

Also, I believe (and we’d need the word of a DDA here to confirm it!) that since hate-crimes are based on intent that violates Title IX, the “hate” enhancement could bump a normal state-level offense into the Federal Criminal courts… just a thought on that one!

Answer by VeggieTart
A hate crime is one in which the victim is selected because of his/her gender, race, religion, ethnicity, national origin (or supposed national origin), sexual orientation/identity, etc.

Not all crimes are hate crimes. There are crimes of opportunity (holding up a store, for example), crimes of passion (someone killing an intimate partner or family member), and so forth. It all comes down to motive.

Answer by AdamK
Here are my thoughts on the issue:

Let’s say one white guy kills a black guy because he hates blacks. Let’s say another white guy kills a black guy because he hates the guy’s shirt. Both should get the same punishment.

However, let’s say Teenager A vandalizes a house of worship beause he hates that religion. Teenager B vandalizes a house of worship because he thinks its a fun way to spend the afternoon. I would say Teenager A should be prosecuted for a hate crime and get a harsher punishment than Teenager B.