Crime Against the Homeless

We hear about this a lot in other cities, but not our own! Three teenagers were charged with beating a homeless guy who was sleeping along the 200 block of Yesler Way in the wee hours of July 2. Apparently they had nothing better to do than find someone less fortunate and beat him up pretty bad. One of the teens was age 15, another aged 19, and a 17 year old who will be charged as an adult. What's your take on these kind of crimes? My opinion is that they should be charged the same as someone who assaults a child or grandmother loved by many. The homeless are sometimes overlooked because they don't always have the support system of people fighting for them. This is clearly a hate crime and those involved should be charged as such.