One of the main portions of the bill provides federal resources to municipalities who can't or won't rigorously investigate and prosecute these types of crime. So when a town's police force can't, or won't because of institutional homo or transphobia, prosecute a hate crime, the federal government would be able to step in.
And while it's true that the individual victim is victimized no matter what the motivation was of the perpetrator, the real effect of hate crimes is to chill and instill fear into the community the victim was a member of and whose membership made them the victim.
Hate crimes are local terrorism. We, as a society, need to make sure that when someone throws a molotov cocktail at a black church that they, when caught, are punished more severely because it isn't just the church or its members that are hurt. It's the whole community. And when a gay man or a trans woman is beaten and murdered because of who they are they aren't the only victims. The victims include all the gay and trans people who are frightened and hindered in the free action of their lives because of that fear.
Oversimplification of an issue is a favored tactic of political opponents. It would behoove us not to fall into that kind of trap.
hugs & smiles
Emelye
