Foreword
Hate crimes — acts of violence or intimidation against people or property motivated by bias against an identifiable social group — are as old as human history, from the Roman persecution of the Christians to the Nazi Holocaust to genocide in Rwanda. In the United States, the most notorious hate crimes have involved the lynch mobs and cross burnings by the Ku Klux Klan, spray painting of swastikas, and assaults on homosexuals. Legal definitions of hate crimes vary. Current Federal law covers the use or threat of force based on race, religion, color, or national origin, but applies only when…
