Originally Posted by dippin

You do know that hate crimes has been part of the legislation since 1969, right? The only thing new is the addition of sexual orientation. And the number of people charged with hate crimes is significantly less than the number of crimes that cross race/gender/religious boundaries.

And the overzealous DA will still have to make the case for intention in a court of law.

In any case, again, how is this different from determining the intent in any other case? A person throws a rock, hits the other in the head, killing them. The person who threw the rock can be charged with anything from manslaughter in the third degree to murder in the first, all depending on the intent of the person.