@matigo Here in the U.S., we have a fairly broad definition of allowable free speech, thanks to the First Amendment of the Constitution. This has both good and bad aspects to it, as everything does, because while it protects our free speech, it also means we've ended up with Alex Jones and the Klan. My personal opinion is that free speech protects everyone, and it's good to shine a light on things that scuttle out from under a rock, so that the world can see them for what they are. That being said, we haven't found the perfect balance by a long shot.
Here in California, the concept of a "hate crime" is used to add additional penalties to other crimes. For example, one could be charged with assault with a deadly weapon with a special allegation of a hate crime, which if convicted leads to harsher penalties. I was a juror on a case like that, and we did in fact find the defendant guilty (it's hard to argue otherwise when someone is beating someone else up while screaming the N-word).
// @JeremyCherfas