Admittedly, I'd never quite understood the term "hate crimes."

Personally, I don't like crime, especially when I'm a victim of it, i.e. "man, I sure hate me some crimes!"

But seriously, during the last five years that I've been editor of Weekly Surge, hate crimes have come to my attention mostly from the writings of Chris Rudisill and his A Gay in the Life column.

Specifically, he has chronicled a few Palmetto State incidents of the last few years that fall under the realm of hate crimes - the majority of which were perpetrated against young gay men.

After editing one such column, I was doing a little bit of fact-checking/Web surfing and Googled "hate crimes laws in South Carolina" and was directed to the Human Rights Campaign's Web site.

And this is what it says:

South Carolina Hate Crimes Law

Gender identity protected? No Law

South Carolina does not have a hate crimes law.

Sexual orientation protected? No Law

South Carolina does not have a hate crimes law.

Hmm...

What does this mean?

So I asked Rudisill if he would be interested in tackling a cover story delving into why the Palmetto State isn't taking a stand on hate.

So, duly coerced, he set about doing his research and we looked for the perfect opportunity to present this topic to Surge readers.

And that came in the form of Myrtle Beach Gay Days, an event happening this weekend as members of the local LGBT community attempt to create awareness and visibility of said community by creating a gigantic, human rainbow flag.

What he uncovered - which you can read starting on page 10 - is a seeming reluctance among S.C. lawmakers to pass hate crimes legislation that has been introduced more than once in Columbia.

Is it going to take a horrible act of violence to motivate those in favor of hate crimes laws to put pressure on our lawmakers?

Would such legislation have any teeth anyway?

What would it accomplish?

As one of the story's sources says, hate crimes are not simply a gay thing (although that seems to be the most controversial aspect), and Rudisill's report touches on the different components of bias-motivated crimes protection - most notably race.

But with Myrtle Beach Gay Days bringing LGBT visibility to the forefront locally, and Rudisill's expertise in exploring themes near and dear to said community, the overall tone of the piece does deal with the relationship between hate crimes laws and sexual orientation.

I'm not totally certain where I stand on the issue of hate crimes laws and their effectiveness - but I'm betting I'd feel quite differently if my loved one or child was brutally and fatally attacked because of who he/she was.

I bet I'd be clamoring for South Carolina to join the other 45 states with some form of hate crimes statutes on the books.

Manic Monday

Every Monday, check out a new edition of my new blog, Manic Monday, posted at mcc-buexch01.corp.kri.com/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.weeklysurge.com/">www.weeklysurge.com as I regale you with the exploits of my weekend out-and-about on the Grand Strand, and set the table for the beginning of the new week. In other words, if you're looking for something to do Monday through Wednesday along the Strand to cure the early-week blahs, hit up my blog and I'll have some suggestions for you.

What are you doing this weekend? You can also tell me all about it and share your thoughts, because the blog is interactive.

Here is the direct link: thesunnews.typepad.com/manic_monday.