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It took just minutes Wednesday for the Utah Sentencing Commission to unanimously endorse "the concept" of an effective hate-crimes bill.

Persuading legislators to enact a workable statute will no doubt be more difficult. But proponents of such a bill believe the time may be ripe.

Utah's existing hate-crimes law is unenforceably vague. Attempts to revise it, however, have repeatedly died at the Legislature -- primarily because of language protecting gays and lesbians.

Tuesday night's passage of Amendment 3 -- which defines marriage solely as the union between a man and a woman -- could help clear the way for a hate-crimes bill, said commission member Paul Boyden, who heads the Statewide Association of Prosecutors.

Having the gay-marriage ban in place could neutralize fears that protecting gays from violence could lead to concessions such as gay marriage.

"It's the slippery-slope argument," Boyden said. "But Amendment 3 changes that. We're looking at a different climate this year."

Rep. David Litvack, D-Salt Lake City, told commission members the state averages about 60 hate crimes per year.

Litvack said a Jewish family in the Capitol Hill area became the most recent target. The victims discovered Monday night that someone had spray-painted a red swastika on their car door.

Litvack, who is Jewish, said news of the swastika had a "ripple effect" that sent a shiver through the city's Jewish community.

"It goes beyond that individual victim," he said.

The proposed bill -- which has not yet been drafted -- would increase the penalty for crimes where the victim is chosen based on "race, color, disability, sexual orientation, national origin, age or gender."

Litvack insisted hate crimes are not just an issue for the gay community. "It's about protection against violence," he said.

Commission member Michael Sibbett -- chairman of the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole and a part-time rancher -- said the state needs a hate-crimes law. "And I'm glad to say that as a cowboy conservative."