A number of terrible offenses have been reported in the history of hate crimes. An outrageous number of people have been injured or killed after having committed no crime other than being homosexual. In many instances it is irrelevant that hate crime laws are on the books. The perpetrators see themselves doing the work of their religion. However, the truth is, they are violating one of the basic principles of every civilization since the beginning of time.

According to statistics, hate crimes are decreasing. Many experts thing that this is because crimes against gay people are not seen as hate crimes. There are are lot of arguments going on today about whether crimes against gay people should be called hate crimes.

But that is what they are. In the history of hate crimes, thousands of people have been terrorized, stalked, or killed. In a country built on principles of freedom of religion and thought, people are getting killed over thinking or acting outside the norm. In fact, the perpetrators are usually the ones with the problems, having some kind of homophobia and acting on it.

From the history of hate crimes it may be seen that they will always be with us, though it's likely that people learning about them will make their frequency decline. Unfortunately, however, the 60's and its civil rights movement has shown that hate crimes will continue on far into the future.

Recent hate crimes against gays appear to be declining. This can be deceptive. Most victims do not trust their local law enforcement to act in their best interest so they do not report it when the crime occurs. These gays are afraid, hiding away in the shadows and unintentionally creating more problems for future victims.

People will give a multitude of excuses for the existence of "hate crimes". All of these listings boil down to intolerance. These could be disapproval of an alternate belief system, or distaste for the sexual and personal identity of others. Regardless of the stated reasons, both the source and the resulting violence are wrong. Rational individuals must be willing to do whatever is necessary to bring such hatred to a close.