We most seriously punish a hitman because he kills without emotion. We forgive an abused wife who kills her husband in his sleep because she was driven to it by emotions like fear and hatred. With “Hate-Crime” the logic is reversed. I would welcome an explanation.
How about this:
We punish an abusive-husband killing wife less severely, if at all, because she kills out of emotions we believe justified, at least to some extent.
The proposed laws would punish "hate crimes" more severely than similar actions because the proponents of these laws believe the hate and fear motivating such crimes is never, ever justified.