The term "hate" can be misleading. As used in the legal sense, the word "hate" does not mean rage, anger or general dislike, but rather it means bias prejudice against people or groups with specific characteristics that are defined by law. A hate crime has been defined, in state and federal legislation, as a crime committed on the basis of the victim's perceived or actual race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identification or disability. The federal government, the District of Columbia and 46 other jurisdictions have enacted such laws. Currently Georgia, Arkansas, South Carolina and Wyoming do not have laws which either criminalize or provide for enhanced punishment individuals who commit crimes of violence based upon this definition.

In the past, Georgia attempted to enact such legislation, but the Georgia Supreme Court in 2004 declared that the Georgia statute was unconstitutionally vague. The Georgia House of Representatives has attempted to address the Georgia's Supreme Court's decision by introducing and passing another version of a "hate crime" statute (House Bill 426). However, the Georgia Senate has failed to pass the legislation with many state senators opposing the legislation as not "necessary." As of today, the bill is dormant in the Georgia Senate.