Hate Crime Prevention

While I agree hate crimes are a horrible thing, unfortunately, the people that commit hate crimes are not going to stop because of a law. It is difficult to legislate morality because not everyone shares the same morals as everyone else. Those that are going to commit hate crimes are going to do it regardless of whether there is a law or not. Unfortunately the Hate Crime Prevention Act that was signed into law will not create a unified environment since those individuals that are going to commit a hate crime do not consider the ramifications of committing a crime. To them it doesn’t matter if there is a law or not. Humans have been discriminating against each other since the dawn of time and a law will not change that. True hate crime prevention should start in the home. Parents should take more of an active role in raising their children and teaching them how to be proper participants of society by raising their children to be accepting and tolerant of others. While this may not be a guaranteed way to prevent hate crimes, it has the potential to be effective by instilling in children acceptance for others, which will hopefully prevent them from developing the attitudes that lead to hate crimes. By having hate crime laws, it only attempts to be a criminal deterrent that puts the government in a position for being responsible for individuals and allowing parents to escape responsibility.