with that last sentence in my post. I don't mean that people don't care about hate crimes. I mean most people don't give a damn about the rights of criminals overall. Then again, that seems to be the case in Texas, at least. I don't know how compassionate other states are when it comes to the people they incarcerate.

As for believing if hate crimes towards homosexuals would dwindle or increase based solely on Prop-8, I think there are many factors, and it cannot be determined either way for a fact. But you have to understand that people who are suspicious of other minority groups will look to whatever authorities in their lives - be it religion, public perception (media) or actual laws - to justifiy their doubts, fear and hate.

Prop-8 is just giving homophobes another reason to believe they are right in distrusting or hating gay people. Because the law is always on the side of justice... right? What I'm getting at is simply this: of course the distrust, hatred and fear is already there, and hate crimes happen everywhere, everyday, before and now after Prop-8 passed. But now that gay people in California have less rights, the law is in effect implying that they are less equal, they are less human. Because they don't have the same rights, meaning they are not the same, they are less. This is what all civil rights movements have fought against, from MLK to Cesar Chavez to Women's Rights, and the Buddhist monks who protested peacefully in Vietnam (and other places too, I'm sure) for the right to practice their religion without discrimination. You have every right to believe that the passing of Prop-8 is not causing the rise of hate crimes against gays, but you can't deny the fact that it isn't helping the situation at all.