It is America's first federal trial over an an alleged hate crime based on gender identity.
This is good news. While the Federal Government had to get involved, as SC has no hate crimes law, and as SC prosecutors are reluctant to charge some criminals to the fullest extent of the law for hate crimes, the mere fact this happened shows that things are changing.
And the fact that this verdict happened in my home state is heartening. I met the USAG at a community workshop a few months ago, and I heard about how they were seeking to target hate crimes.













