Imagine being brutally beaten or criticized for being yourself. People are victimized every day because of hate crimes.
A hate crime is the violence against a person or a group of people based on religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or religion. People do these things to intimidate others or to make them feel inferior. Each state has specific laws for this type of crime and some people in the LGBT community in Alabama believe these laws aren’t strict enough.
After being invited over to share a Thanksgiving meal, a woman in Mobile, AL was severely beaten over her sexual orientation. Her injuries were so bad that she had to have facial reconstructive surgery, and the situation drew national attention.
Ashley Mitchell, a sophomore at Bob Jones said, “You can’t just beat up somebody because you don’t like what they stand for. Have some respect.”
Other hate crime incidents in America have been against minorities and religious groups because of bigotry. Civil rights organizations across the country try to raise awareness of these crimes in effort to stop them from happening.
Even though we might have different beliefs and backgrounds, we are all a part of the human race, and we should all treat each other the way we would like to be treated.
