The recent guilty pleas of two men to federal hate crime charges in the racially motivated branding of a swastika on a 22-year-old developmentally disabled Navajo man highlights the importance of strong federal and state hate crimes laws. Kudos to the collaborative efforts among local law enforcement, prosecutors and federal agencies to bring in this guilty plea.

The defendants in this case were the first to be charged under the federal Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr., Hate Crimes Prevention Act, enacted in October 2009.

The shocking branding and shaving of a swastika on the victim's scalp, along with the white supremacist insignias inscribed on his body, defies belief. It is hard to imagine this scenario, let alone that the assailants recorded it all on their cell phones.

While all crimes are tragic, hate crimes impact entire communities because they target victims simply for who they are.

All that matters to the assailant is that the victim is or is perceived to be of a particular race, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation. Because hate crime victims are interchangeable and often chosen randomly, these crimes terrorize the entire victim's community.

If someone draws a swastika on my door because I am Jewish, the entire Jewish community will wonder "who is next?"

Nationwide, law enforcement agencies reported 7,789 hate crimes to the FBI in 2009, the latest year for which statistics are available. What is more, hate crimes remain grossly underreported for many reasons; these statistics don't begin to give the full picture. Most estimates are much higher.

And, while the latest FBI statistics reflect that the majority of hate crimes victims are traditional minorities, they also show that 19 percent of race-based hate crimes are against whites, 8 percent of religious-based hate crimes are against Christians and 1 percent of sexual orientation-based hate crimes are against heterosexuals.

Another myth about hate crimes laws is that they punish speech and thought – a claim flatly rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court. These laws punish conduct: There cannot be a hate crime without an underlying crime like murder, arson, assault or vandalism.

Like any other crime, hate crimes must be proven at trial with evidence beyond a reasonable doubt, to a jury or judge. And because hate crimes prosecutions must meet the same rigorous evidentiary standards as all other crimes, they are often hard to prove.

According to the Department of Justice, currently there are more than 80 ongoing investigations under the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr., Hate Crimes Prevention Act.

New Mexico has the unenviable distinction of being the first state where charges were filed under the new law. While we as New Mexicans hope that there will be no cause for future such prosecutions in this state, we are grateful it is on the books and we appreciate the vigilance of the U.S. Attorney's office here in making sure the law is applied when needed.

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.