Jeff Black (Readers' Forum, Feb. 10), you don't get it. Hate crimes are when someone targets an individual because he or she wants to send a hate message to not just that person but to everyone in that community. The people you care about and associate with probably would care and feel violated if someone were to kill you and spray paint "Die Mormon Die" next to your lifeless body.
The idea of hate-crime legislation is to say we won't accept intolerance of others. You have the right to think these things, but when your thoughts are played out in actions, you are not just violating the victim but the entire community to which they belong.
Mark Barr
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Salt Lake City