The special laws are the Hate crime laws and the Vandalism laws. It’s a chicken and an egg situation that sometimes is hard to understand about the American legal system. The Constitutional Rights came first and the laws came second. The stipulations to Hate crime laws are shaped generationally by what is defined as “Hate” at that time. It’s not because of the constitutional guarantee of freedom of religion that they will be held or tried, it’s because of the federal and local laws and statues that are established by elected officials in all levels of the Government that have defined a Hate Crime based on the constitutional guidelines. The Federal laws can also be contrary to local laws or more strict than local laws on the matter, which can result in laws that “fill the gaps” between federal laws and local needs. This is a rabbit hole of how complex a legal system can be and saying that the law has been made for churches that is separate from individual citizens, isn’t really correct here. The building, it’s contents, and the event is, by definition, religious and the act here can be defined as a hate crime for that reason. I guess the contrary would be sitting on your couch on a Sunday watching TV in atheist bliss only to have someone come into your home and start screaming at you and not leaving, threatening you and potentially causing you harm based on your beliefs and your rights to exercise them. You can say, “let trespassing laws handle it.” But in reality, the motivation and subsequent actions can lead to additional charges that prevent this person from getting just a fine for their actions.

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