State senator wants ‘homeless hate crime’ law (KOB)

Were the deadly beatings of two homeless men in Albuquerque a hate crime?

Under federal law, the answer is no. That’s true for most states, too.

But one state senator thinks New Mexico should step up and be a leader.

It’s state Sen. Bill O’Neill’s personal story that makes what happened over the weekend so powerful for him.

Whatever the motive for this weekend’s murder, O’Neill says a crime committed against the homeless, simply because they are homeless, should be a hate crime.

Read more here: http://www.kob.com/article/stories/S3512761.shtml#.U9EegMtOXcs