No, I completely disagree here. Isn't this like saying that murder is illegal and its punishment need not include the fact that it was intentional or premeditated?

Motivations matter and punishments matter. Not just for the person being punished, but for the message it sends to wider society about what is and isn't acceptable. Sending the message that hatred is unacceptable does manipulate attitudes.

It might be slow, it might be difficult, some people may prove themselves immune, but social change requires cues from many sources. Arguably the most important of those is the law.