Q&A
Click to read answers.

QUESTION: Why is there a distinction between crimes and hate crimes?  Aren’t all crimes hate crimes?

QUESTION: Hate crime laws don’t really stop hate crimes from happening, do they, so why should we have them?

QUESTION: So hate crime laws don’t pander to specific minority or special-interest groups?

QUESTION: Don’t United States hate crime laws and hate crime legislation make illegal so-called hate speech, including sermons that condemn acts of homosexuality? 

QUESTION: Wait a minute.  Wasn’t there a court case in Pennsylvania challenging that state’s hate crime law because it violated the constitutional right to free speech? 

QUESTION: So why has there been so much said about hate crimes laws violating free speech in this country? 

QUESTION: Some places—like Hawaii every year, and Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 2006—do not collect or report hate crime data, but other places, like St. Paul, Minnesota do.  Wouldn’t it be better if all towns, cities, and states abolished the practice of collecting and reporting data about hate crimes?  It just makes those places look bad. 

QUESTION: Doesn’t one federal crime law provide local law enforcement agencies with additional resources to investigate hate crimes and to prosecute hate crime defendants?  Why is that necessary?

QUESTION:  Where can the details of state and federal hate crime statutes be viewed online?

QUESTION:  Where can the federal hate crimes reporting act be found online?

Site-related FAQ
Click to read answers.

QUESTION:  Why are the hate crimes in your "This Date in Hate" calendar not listed somewhere else on your website by the type of victim (such as African-Americans, Jews, Latinos, etc.)?

QUESTION:  Why does no one ever write comments in response to your blogs?

QUESTION:  Can I submit a blog to your site for posting?

QUESTION:  Why does Trends In Hate give details of faked hate crimes?

QUESTION:  Does Trends In Hate have a fair use notice of its site's contents?