NYSentencing

§ 485.00 Legislative findings.
  The legislature finds and determines as follows: criminal acts involv-
ing violence, intimidation and destruction of property based  upon  bias
and  prejudice  have  become  more prevalent in New York state in recent
years.  The intolerable truth is that  in  these  crimes,  commonly  and
justly referred to as "hate crimes", victims are intentionally selected,
in  whole  or  in  part,  because of their race, color, national origin,
ancestry, gender, religion, religious practice, age, disability or sexu-
al orientation.   Hate crimes do  more  than  threaten  the  safety  and
welfare  of all citizens.  They inflict on victims incalculable physical
and emotional damage and tear  at  the  very  fabric  of  free  society.
Crimes  motivated  by invidious hatred toward particular groups not only
harm individual victims but send a powerful message of  intolerance  and
discrimination  to all members of the group to which the victim belongs.
Hate crimes can and do intimidate and  disrupt  entire  communities  and
vitiate  the civility that is essential to healthy democratic processes.
In  a  democratic society, citizens cannot be required to approve of the
beliefs and practices of others, but must never commit criminal acts  on
account  of them.  Current law does not adequately recognize the harm to
public order and individual safety that hate crimes cause.    Therefore,
our laws must be strengthened to provide clear recognition of the gravi-
ty  of  hate  crimes  and  the compelling importance of preventing their
recurrence.
  Accordingly, the legislature  finds  and  declares  that  hate  crimes
should be prosecuted and punished with appropriate severity.