If this is the first step down a slippery slope, it is a small step indeed.

Yes, I'll agree with that. However, I feel very strongly that this is a line that shouldn't be crossed for any reason. Stiffer penalties based on people's beliefs or motivation is still judging them based on what they were thinking, not only what they were doing. Though some religions teach we will be judged for our thoughts, this is not a responsibility the state should bare. We live in a country where one of our greatest freedoms is that we can think and believe how we like; it is only our actions for which we should be punished.