Wow, I always gave you more credit than this...
I used to think differently about this issue. But having seen one of my gay friends bleeding and bruised in the aftermath of being followed from a restaurant by a bunch of teens and assaulted in the parking lot, he admitted that that incident wasn't the first time that it had happened to him. Some people apparently think it's a lot of fun to beat up on him, simply because his mannerisms are different from ours. They slammed his head on the pavement and kicked him. And for what reason?!? Because he's gay?!? WTF?!? I want these criminals to go away for a long time -- but I don't have any problem seeing them go away longer for having targeted my friend. He didn't (and doesn't) deserve that kind of crap. Most of you have justified this kind of behavior, feeling safe in the knowledge that you're not as likely to be attacked as some of these people. But that's the point. They're targets. And this law sends a signal that continuing to target them means more jail time. I'm all for that.