The proposal, like the movement that helped inspire it, has become an effective line of counterattack for conservatives tired of the Black Lives Matter campaign, which had grown in intensity following last week’s police shootings of two African-American men in Louisiana and Minnesota.
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Rep. Kevin Bratcher (R-KY) introduced a similar bill in Kentucky one day before the Dallas shooting.
Steffen laid out his case for the bill ahead of its announcement. “This legislation sends a clear message that the despicable attacks we’ve seen against officers throughout the country will not be tolerated in Wisconsin”.
A bill called “Blue Lives Matter” introduced by a Wisconsin legislator Monday is supposed to make a statement. He could not recall an incident in his 29 years of law enforcement experience in which officers in Brown County were randomly attacked simply because they wore a uniform, “but it’s important for law enforcement to hear that the Legislature is in support”, he said. “An attack on them is an attack on our tradition of ordered liberty, and we must do everything possible to hold individuals who do them harm accountable”. “I’m one of those that believe all lives matter”.
Police officers could be added to the list of groups protected by hate crime laws, in Wisconsin. “I’m hoping we’ll be sending a strong and first message that we support the men and women who serve and protect our communities each and every day”.
Democrats are assailing the proposed Republican legislation as legally unnecessary, as there are already enhanced penalties for assaulting Florida law enforcement officers. According to the news site, demonstrators who damage squad cars or gather on police property can be charged with hate crimes, too.
Florida’s hate-crimes law increases penalties if offenses are based on factors such as race, religion, sexual orientation or mental or physical disability. “It’s one of those professions that it’s inherently you’re in a risky situation”.
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“Working in a profession is not a personal characteristic, and it is not immutable”, she said. “It has nothing to do with someone’s profession”.
