This may get me in a whole mess of trouble, but I'm feeling big mouthed today. (Blame it on the midmorning margaritas.)

You know something that bugs me? Hate crimes. No, not the commission of them, but the existence of a separate category altogether. I know this is highly politically incorrect, but I believe labeling certain crimes as "hate crimes" is unnecessary pandering to minority groups. A crime is a crime is a crime, no matter who is committing it or why! Murder is a hate crime, no matter what the circumstances. The "hate" in committing murder is the disregard of life itself. Making the penalty more severe when it affects minority groups sends a bad message. It says that some lives are more valuable than others in the eyes of the law. Tell that to the mother who is burying a daughter killed in a domestic conflict. I wonder if she thinks the man who murdered her child is less of a monster because he wasn't motivated by race, religion, or sexual preference? I doubt it. His actions deserve as much attention and reprimand as the law allows, motivation should be irrelevant. Just because you don't like someone's motivation for murder doesn't mean it should be treated differently. That puts a human judgement in the place of law, and that is dangerous territory.

Do I believe hate crimes should go unpunished? Of course not. But prosecute them based on the facts (someone was hurt or died), and leave the political agenda out of it. Teaching tolerance is not the law's job. I'm not saying it's a bad lesson to learn, we certainly all have to figure out a way to live and function in a world where everybody is different. But that is not the law's business.

Opinions?