Eric Holder on Hate Crimes Legislation

Some people, such as John Boehner, believe that groups of people, such as gay people, shouldn't be protected under special legislation, that murder is murder. But that's not true. Murdering a person motivated by hatred for a group of people is horrendous. It's also terrorism because it's meant to frighten large populations of people. It requires special penalties. There is no place for hate crimes in modern society and it should be dealt with as such.
Believe it or not, conservatives are arguing against legislation because they're afraid that their faux-Christian selves will be busted for speaking out against homosexuality. If conservatives have nothing better to do than rail against homosexuality, they're being very un-Christian. They need to get their flock in order in so many other ways. But punishing conservatives for preaching against gay people is not the purpose of the bill. The bill is for that conservative preacher who went out and flogged someone because that person was gay:

A hate crimes bill has passed the House and is expected to pass the Senate as early as this week. Conservative Christian leaders such as James Dobson, Pat Robertson and Donald Wildmon hate it.

In June, 60 religious conservatives signed a letter asking senators to filibuster the hate-crimes bill for fear it would "criminalize preaching the Gospel and put preachers in the cross-hairs." Christian Right groups have been sounding the alarm ever since. "Hate Crimes Bill Threatens Free Speech," warns the Christian Broadcasting Network. "Pastors could be prosecuted for preaching the biblical view of homosexuality," intones Focus on the Family. WaPo