Does this mean a homosexual "spat" would be considered a hate crime.....? What kind of crime ISN'T a "hate" crime? Go ahead let them get married, just make it illegal to get DIVORCED!
Arnie is a much shrewder politician than we give him credit for. He knows his constituency. There's a reason he has stratospheric approval ratings. If we are going to be a majority party, a governing party, we have to understand that not all of our members are going to agree on every issue. The Democrats moved this country leftward for decades by fracturing the opposition and running candidates that appealed to the voters in their region, even if they were nothing like on another (P.J. O'Rourke used to quip that Lloyd Bentsen was a democrat because his ties to big business were too embarassing for the Republicans). Let Arnie sign legislation like that in California, while people like me in Texas don't have to worry about it. That's federalism. Arnie supported Bush and helped tremendously at the convention, supports tax relief and is clearly pro-free market, is patriotic and supports a strong national defense, and just vetoed the bill the dems sent up to give driver's licenses to illegal aliens. I think we have to accept that a California Republican may not be exactly like a Texas Republican if we are going to maintain a lasting majority. And a lasting majority is necessary if we are going to undo three decades of neo-marxist influence on our institutions.
"What kind of crime ISN'T a "hate" crime?"
That is the whole point. We are supposed to be equal under the law. By designating SOME things as "hate crimes", you are saying that some groups are protected and worth more than me or white heterosexual males. Hate crimes wreak of unconstitutionality.