What's so special about "Hate Crimes"?

Demonstrating contempt for the Constitution by punishing citizens for thinking the "wrong" thoughts.

The campaign to punish thought continues
[Links to Biweekly Commentaries]

Understanding "Hate Crime" Laws

Increasing "Hate Crime" Punishment Violates American Principles
[Enhancing the criminal sentence because of the offender's prejudiced motivation is essentially punishing the offender for his beliefs and opinions.]

What Makes A Crime Of Prejudice Worse Than Any Other Crime?, by Charley Reese
["Hate crime" laws are the first step to totalitarianism.]

The Haters of Hate, by Fulton Huxtable
[Once it becomes legal for the state to criminalize one idea, e.g., racist attitudes, it will become legal to criminalize any idea.]

The Trouble With Hate-Crime Laws, by Richard Cohen
[We are creating laws that instill the notion that the worth of an individual is dependent on the group to which he belongs.]