Introduction

Mark Dye/Reuters

The trial of the Rutgers student Dharun Ravi, who used a webcam to spy on his roommate Tyler Clementi with another man before Clementi committed suicide, has raised questions about whether Ravi’s actions were a hate crime or simple boorishness. But some have even questioned whether there need to be hate crime laws at all. Do they protect against intimidation and bigotry, or are they unnecessary and unfair?