However, civil rights laws are normally based on characteristics that can't be changed, such as skin color, sex, or disability. Religion is the exception. The First Amendment protects our beliefs. If sexual orientation is added to hate crime laws, we legitimize the false claim that sexual orientation is inbred, rather than chosen behavior. All crimes are hate crimes.
All criminals operate on the basis of hate or other impure motive.
Criminal acts should be vigorously and fairly prosecuted. But hate crime laws allow the same action to be punished differently. B. Both crimes are equally horrible, regardless of the words spoken at the time of the attack. A federal hate crime statute would violate the principle of federalism. Punishing criminals is primarily a state responsibility.