Why have hate crime laws?

This is an opinion item.

Author(s)	Chicago Tribune editorial board
Source	Chicago Tribune
Date	July 9, 2007
URL	http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-0709edit2jul09,0,2939900.story
Quote	"The Senate version is called "The Matthew Shepard Act," after a gay man beaten to death in 1998 in Wyoming. But that case fails to prove the need for an expanded law. His two assailants were not charged with a hate crime, since the state had no such law. They were, however, convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison."

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This item argues against the position Act should be passed on the topic Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2007.