Hate crimes are message crimes with clear, calculated and hurtful intent. They merit a priority response from both local and federal law enforcement agencies.

Perpetrators target not only the primary victim, but everyone who shares that victim's characteristics. The message is that certain kinds of people are not safe or welcome in our midst. These crimes -- designed to intimidate whole communities -- have a unique impact and can spark widespread neighborhood conflicts and damage the fabric of our society.  Hate crimes do not restrict free speech or religious preaching.

The fear of restricting speech is often offered as a reason to oppose hate crime legislation -- even though the allegation is patently false. Hate crime laws do not violate the Constitution. The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled in 1993 that hate crime laws are constitutional. It was Chief Justice William Rehnquist who wrote "a physical assault is not by any stretch of the imagination expressive conduct protected by the First Amendment."

Hate crimes laws, including those in Pennsylvania and 44 other states, punish criminal acts such as assault, arson and murder. They protect all of us from attacks targeting us solely for our characteristics -- no matter what our race, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, or disability. That means white, black, gay, straight, Muslim, Jew, Christian are all equally protected. Hate crimes laws send an important message back to the perpetrators, victims, and every American -- that each of us is welcome, safe and protected in our communities.

Prosecutors and juries are perfectly capable of evaluating a perpetrator's intent. They do it every day. Intent is what distinguishes murder from manslaughter, and negligence from purposeful harm.

Though Pennsylvania has a strong hate crimes law, federal legislation is a necessary complement, for two specific reasons:

* State hate crimes statutes, where they exist, vary widely in their breadth and impact. Victims who are protected in some states are unprotected in others.

For example, 31 states include sexual orientation-based crimes in their hate crimes statutes while 27 states cover gender-based crimes and another 31 cover disability-based crimes. Therefore, when state and local authorities cannot, or will not, address certain bias-motivated crimes, the federal government must have jurisdiction to step in and do so.

The pending federal legislation, H.R. 1592 approved by the House in early May, will allow federal authorities to assist in these investigations -- offering protection to victims of bias-motivated crimes regardless of where they reside. A similar bill, S. 1105, is under consideration in the Senate.

* Passage of this federal law will increase public education and awareness of the unique nature of bias-motivated crimes and encourage Americans to report hate crimes to law enforcement. The federal government must demonstrate its resolve to deal with violence based on prejudice.

Some opponents of hate crime laws doubt that they have much impact on reducing crime. That's not what law enforcement officials say.

Every major law enforcement organization in the country has supported state hate crime laws and the pending federal bill, including the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the National Sheriffs Association, the National District Attorneys Association, the Police Executive Research Forum and 26 state attorneys general.  They believe, as does the Anti-Defamation League, that a strong federal hate crimes bill would demonstrate a national commitment to eradicate bias-motivated violence.

We hope the U.S. Senate soon approves this legislation, that President Bush will sign it into law, and that the message is made clear that our country is no place for hate.

Shari Kochman and Barry Morrison are regional directors for the Anti-Defamation League in western and eastern Pennsylvania, respectively.

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.