Utah may shift focus on hate legislation

That's because it contains a section requiring consideration of the degree to which the victim's selection is likely to cause emotional or other harm or incite community unrest, Shurtleff said.

Shurtleff points to language in the Georgia ruling that looked for that sort of language, which was absent in Georgia's law.

"This is something we can pursue. The question is, is it watering it down?" Shurtleff said. "I don't think it does."

Paul Boyden, executive director of the Statewide Association of Prosecutors, said the aggravation doesn't step up a penalty as would an enhancement, for example, from a third-degree to second-degree felony. Instead, it's meant to help a judge or Utah Board of Pardons and Parole decide what sentence is appropriate within a range, he said.

"Judges and the Board of Pardons to some degree do take this into consideration already," Boyden said. "If you memorialize something, it gives the judge something to hang his hat on."

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E-mail: dbulkeley@desnews.com