We’re all good people here and we don’t harass the homeless because it’s not nice, but there are people out there, I suppose, who think it’s sport to do so. That said, making the homeless a designated protected group under the Seattle hate crimes ordinance is down right stupid. The story’s here. The guts are below:

Harassers who target the homeless could soon be charged with hate crimes under a proposal approved Tuesday by a Seattle City Council committee.

The measure would add the homeless as a class specifically protected under an existing city prohibition against malicious harassment based on gender identity, marital status, political ideology, age and parental status.

The move is largely symbolic. If approved by the full council, the law would have little practical effect in city courts, said City Attorney Tom Carr. As a gross misdemeanor, malicious harassment carries no greater penalty in municipal court than does regular harassment, Carr said.

That ‘graf there says the move is largely symbolic. Maybe. For now. And just when we thought we might get legislation to save us from hot and cold running antagonistic beggars…
And just food for thought: will they get around to defining what “harassment” is?