If a police officer attacks someone of a minority, it isn't considered a hate crime unless the community is in an uproar. Why then classify attacks on police officers as hate crimes and further segregate them from the rest of society. This could also be seen as another push for special treatment of police officers.

Hate crimes are perpetuated against groups of people based on things they can't control such as race, sexuality, or even nationality. The police are not an ethnic group, they are an authority. Any attacks against them should be considered like any crime against a city government official would be.

Law enforcement needs to address their own hate crimes or at least acknowledge them. Law enforcement does not need any more entitlement but need to be held accountable for actions committed by their departments.

The title of "Hate Crime" was meant to acknowledge the particular vitriol and prejudice behind crimes committed against marginalized and oppressed peoples simply because they are who they are. Cops are not oppressed people and in fact generally have the upperhand in the power dynamic when interpersonal interactions become viral and political. This would just be putting more power into the hands of the all-powerful.

Since when is an occupation something one cannot choose?

What a ridiculous piece of legislation, when people encounter police, they are either viewed as a savior or a villain. Depending on what you're doing at the time. Everyone either loves them or hates them. It's an occupational hazard. This bill is pandering at its finest.

This would make Police Officers above the law.

They choose their profession and are aware of the dangers that they face. They also already have special laws that mandate heavier sentences for crimes committed against police officers than of regular citizens. Hate crime is a designation for either people who are hated for something circumstantial that they can not help like race, gender, nationality, gender-identity (homosexuality) or religion which is supposed to be a benign choice that doesn't impose or infringe on anyone else (because in the US, we have freedom of religion and a separation of Church and State).

Should deliberate attacks by police officers count as hate crimes? Especially if it's agains people with certain characteristics? This is a ridiculous bill, assault on a police officer should count as an assault without classification.

HATE CRIMES?! REALLY??!! I'm totally against defining ANY CRIME as a "hate crime! This was a clever leftist ploy to get people used to "newspeak"! Wake up, people! This is another aspect of SOCIAL ENGINEERING! ASSAULT IS ASSAULT AND MURDER IS MURDER! CALLING THEM HATE CRIMES AGAINST A PARTICULAR GROUP OF PEOPLE (DEFINED BY WHATEVER CRITERIA YOU CHOOSE) DOESN'T MAKE SOMEONE MORE ASSAULTED OR MORE DEAD! You can see where this brainwashing tactic has led us. Colleges are implementing such inane rules as students being told to say "oops!" or "ouch!" - depending on whether they are the person who said something considered offensive, or the person who felt offended. See story at: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/frenchrevolution/2017/03/02/college-implements-new-oops-ouch-rule-student-suspended-questioning-call-culture/?utm_content=bufferdd2dc&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer WHAT ALL THIS AMOUNTS TO IS THE GRADUAL DESTRUCTION OF OUR RIGHT OF FREE SPEECH! Yes, motives count in solving crimes and prosecuting criminals. But it can be tricky trying to prove MOTIVE or INTENT. I give you the FBI's investigation of Hillary Clinton as evidence of that! Lastly, this whole issue of attacks against our LEOs does NOT need interference by the federal government. This is a matter for the states and local governments to resolve. The Democommies won't be happy until our LEOs are taken over by the federal government OR worse, by the UN! They don't WANT power to be in the hands of WE THE PEOPLE! Here's how the brainwashing is done: Cultural Marxism and the Red International Women’s Day By Dr. Ileana Johnson Paugh, March 8, 2017 Insidious cultural Marxism has affected; Academia, Liberal textbooks, books in general, movies, main stream media, Internet, television The insidious cultural Marxism has affected the minds of millions, how they think, how they perceive the world around them, life in general, and how humanity evolved. Academia, liberal textbooks, and books in general, movies, the main stream media, Internet, and television have shaped a new generation of drones who worship at the feet of cultural Marxism. Karl Marx and the Bolsheviks in Russia tried to unite the proletariat by force under the Soviet banner but countries resisted, they cared more about their nationalism, their borders, about their economic freedom than the Bolshevik’s envy and desire to destroy capitalist success. But Antonio Gramsci’s idea, lesser known to the western world, was to change the western culture, the American and European culture slowly, so that the new generations will be willing and eager to accept Marxism. The Marxist-Communist Party in Germany established in 1923 an institute later known as the Frankfurt School, to overturn the accepted societal standards and replace them with Marxist ideals. When Hitler rose to power, these “scholars” were chased out of Germany and they sought refuge in America, at Columbia University in New York – George Lukas, Antonio Gramsci, Charles Reich, Max Horkheimer, Theodore Adorno, Erich Fromm, and Wilhelm Reich. George Soros’ Open Society Foundations and other NGOs, injected the virus of Cultural Marxism into societies around the globe So far they’ve been quite successful in destroying Christian morals upon which the west was founded, replacing Christianity with values such as “cultural pessimism, sexual revolution, destruction of marriage and family, feminism, gender identity, transgenderism, bathroom use by biological opposites, and same sex marriage.” George Soros’ Open Society Foundations and other NGOs, injected the virus of Cultural Marxism into societies around the globe, with large infusions of cash that produced generations of followers at universities, high schools, middle and elementary schools, in the mass media, and Hollywood’s militant actors who fancy themselves the ultimate scholarly authority. Generations of politicians, actors, lawyers, doctors, teachers, journalists, professors, and other intellectuals have graduated from this school of thought in the last 25 years. Many advisors to presidents in Europe and the U.S. have been brainwashed as well into the Cultural Marxism school of thought. A very high percentage of my former high school and college students were products of Cultural Marxism and its intolerance for divergent opinions and belief systems. Europe, by virtue of its location, is more advanced in its acceptance and total embrace of Cultural Marxism but we are not that far behind. Communists who call themselves progressives today have co-opted language and invented Political Correctness, a form of language censorship, among other things, to indoctrinate the pliable youth into Marxism. You could say that language matters. http://canadafreepress.com/article/cultural-marxism-and-the-red-international-womens-day?utm_source=CFP+Mailout&utm_campaign=0bd160477e-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_03_09&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_d8f503f036-0bd160477e-291128889

This is a stupid bill and honestly I think South Park handled this situation the best early on in the show. They pointed out that what society and the government are doing is tacking hate crimes specifically to crimes of discrimation mainly picking out ethnicity and/or sexual orientation but the truth of the matter is EVERY crime is a HATE crime because any crime attacking/harming someone is due to hateful thoughts, hateful spirit or whatever the case. Unless it's all violent crimes then hate crime shouldn't be thrown around. So what you're telling me, is if a white guy decides he wants to beat me up because he doesn't like me, that isn't considered a hate crime?? Sure sounds like a crime of hatred to me...... Furthermore, all this does is continue to drive a wedge between people,whether it's racial segregation or because of someone's job you are then singling those groups out turning them into a minority. There is only 1 race we should be concerned...

By definition, a hate crime is committed against those for things they did not choose. Others have said the same more eloquently but that doesn't make it less true. Crimes against those for their skin color, their born religion, sexual identity or gender are hate crimes. Crimes against a profession that one chooses doesn't classify. I love our police, but don't love their actions all the time. Fix the root of the problem and society will respect them again.

No! They should be treated as crimes against police officers -- which in many jurisdictions require more severe penalties.

If someone who hated Apple products decided to kill or harm an Apple employee should that be considered a hate crime against Apple employees? Does the same go for Walmart employees, or any other business for that matter. You can't say it's not the same because logically it is. Police officers are doing a job as part of an entity but it's a choice to be part of that entity.The logic of this Bill is flawed no matter how you feel about police officers you must understand that.

All it takes is one big incident with a bunch of cops getting shot and we're considering legal protection for the cops, yet hundreds of black lives are destroyed over a period of YEARS and we blame those same black lives?!? I'm literally astounded. Don't worry America, we don't have a race problem.

When black men and women are shot by law enforcement, it has not been treated as a hate crime, so I do not believe that this is the kind of legislation, we need at this moment. We cannot only be concerned about the lives of law enforcement, and not about the black men and women who have lost their lives right and left. What I would like to see is legislation on police reform, because the incidents we are seeing of violence against law enforcement are stemming directly from a broken justice system.