I don't think hate crime legislation would change someone's behavior or even make them think twice about doing the act. However, I don't think the legislation is about the perpetrator of the crime. It is about the community at large.

Many people say, "murder is murder" and it's already illegal so what's the point of hate crime legislation to control conduct that is already illegal. My answer to that is that normally if you kill or beat up someone, the action is done solely to that person. But if you do it because the person is gay or black or jewish, etc... than your crime does not just effect that person but it victimizes an entire community and causes lots of people to leave in fear. Thus hate crime legislation sends a message to the victimized community that the legislators care about their safety and comfort and will not tolerate intimidating behavior.