do you not support domestic violence legislation, pd, on account of the fact that violent crimes can occur in someone's home and not be considered DV?
you smarmy contrarian shitheels are quibbling over semantics. hate crimes, as TVC said, are a simple term for all crimes where the primary motivating factor is irrational hatred based on group -- rather than individual -- characteristics. sorry if the word "hate" is a little too general for y'all, but sometimes simpler makes a more effective point. they are punished more severely because they have social repurcussions beyond those immediately affected by the crime.