Bachman text covered how our current laws define hate/bias crimes as targeting a victim due to race, ethnicity, disability or sexual orientation. Today, nearly every state and the federal government have laws that require sentencing enhancements for offenders who commit crimes motivated by hate.

Please respond to the following:

1. What are the positive aspects of hate crime(s) legislation? What are the possible negative aspects?

2. Pick one piece of "Hate Crime" legislation... Was there an event or series of events that led to the creation of this legislation? How has this legislation been used to impact "Hate Crimes"? Has it been successful? If you had the ability to modify this legislation what would you do and why?

3. While legislation is important, what else can we do as individuals, as families, in our communities and as a society to lessen (or prevent) these crimes from happening?

For the above please do not include personal opinions without evidence. Please remain in the third person and do not begin sentences with "I personally believe" or "I believe". See below.

REMEMBER - This is not an opinion only based assignment, it is a research-based discussion where applying course material to support your points is required. Make sure all arguments for each part include references to course materials and credible sources to support your opinions.

Reference

Alvarez, A. & Bachman, R. (2020). Violence: The Enduring Problem 4th Edition. Sage Publications. ISBN: 978-1544355672 (e-book); 978-154435568

• Chapter 8: "Hate Crimes"
• Chapter 9: "Crowd Violence"

Hate Crime in America, by the Numbers- https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/charleston-church-shooting/hate-crime-america-numbers-n81521