Although opponents of hate crime laws would like you to believe otherwise, the constitutional right of Americans to have equality under the law exists for everyone with respect to hate crime laws, not just a select few, as we’ve just described.  Where special-interest groups are served in the hate crime law debate is not in which categories are considered protected categories, but in which categories are excluded from hate crime laws.  Gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability and homelessness status are sometimes not included in state hate crime laws, and of these only gender, sexual orientation, and disability are included as protected categories as of 2008 under federal law, but the law (The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994) only applies to federal crimes.  Many clergy have voiced their support for including sexual orientation as a category of inclusion under federal law so that the federal government could assist state and local law enforcement agencies in investigating and prosecuting sexual orientation-based hate crimes, something they can’t do now*.  However, many other clergy (and some evangelical Christian groups) have just as loudly opposed including sexual orientation under federal law for a whole host of self-serving reasons.
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*For analyses of the United States Senate votes in 2000 and 2002 regarding an expanded version of the federal hate crime statute, see our Politics of Hate reports.