Originally Posted by Maki

Most people link hate crime enhancers to major crimes of violence for some reason. But the enhancers can be a wake-up call for someone who, say, commits a simple battery on a person because of who they are. Suddenly a couple of punches become a felony.

Some years back some young punks up in central Wisconsin went out on a mission to "harass the Amish" (quoted in the criminal complaint) and trashed a family's property. They were charged with felony hate crime enhancers that turned a prank into potential prison time.

In such cases I think hate-crime enhancers are appropriate and very likely limit the harassment that certain people may otherwise face.