Top Democratic leaders unveiled the Justice in Policing Act on Monday, the announcement of which was preceded by several congressional Democrats taking a knee during a moment of silence at the Capitol Visitor Center.
"When the people are marching in the streets, it's because they are fully aware of the history of this issue in America, and they've had enough. … We're here because black Americans want to stop being killed," Sen. Kamala Harris said when giving comments on the proposed legislation on Monday. "Just last week, we couldn't even pass an anti-lynching bill in the United States Senate."
The 134-page legislation, despite a united push from activists, does not include language calling for the ending of funding to police departments. NPR-noted highlights include the creation of a National Police Misconduct Registry, the limiting of transfers of military-level weapons to state and local agencies, a body camera requirement at the federal level, the ban of choke-holds, the ban of no-knock warrants in drug cases, and more.
Also included is a House-passed bill that would make lynching a federal hate crime.
The move comes as protests continue nationwide in the wake of the murder of George Floyd, a killing at the hands of the Minneapolis Police Department that has incited other recent examples of fatal police brutality to (thankfully) be pushed into the mainstream conversation surrounding justice and reform.
That conversation has also included growing support for the aforementioned idea of defunding police. For more on how that might work, and how it could be effective in moving forward from this pivotal moment in American history, consider giving this a read.
Also on Monday, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that this week the state will "lead the way on real and necessary reform":
Among the line items are banning chokeholds and making police disciplinary records transparent.
