w Testament is there scripture denoting homosexuality. Hate crime laws would not give any special privileges to minority groups which could not likewise be used against them. All of the laws that are hoped to be passed would protect majority groups the same as it does those normally targeted for hate crimes. Nor would these laws restrict Americans First Amendment right to the freedom of speech; they would berate the criminal action which is already punishable in courts. Hate crime legislation is needed. Crimes are on the upswing, becoming more public, more violent, and more acceptable in certain places of society. Without the proposed laws there is little chance that this shall become any less prevalent. As NGLTF, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, a well-respected agency who fights for equal rights for homosexuals, stated in their December 1997 article, the exclusion or removal of sexual orientation from hate crimes legislation by law makers is morally indefensible at a time when anti-gay violence is widespread. Failure to address this critical problem sends a dangerous message to law enforcement and the public that anti-gay violence does not exist, or worse, is somehow less reprehensible than violence against other minorities....
