It's possible that any act of violence against a police officer could soon constitute a hate crime. Louisiana is considering a bill that would amend the state's hate crime law to include law enforcement officials, such as police officers and firefighters.
House Bill 953, which is being dubbed "Blue Lives Matter," passed the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday with no opposition and will now go before the Senate, according to The Times-Picayune. Once past that final vote, it will be up to Gov. John Bel Edwards to sign the bill into law or not.
According to the bill's new language:
The bill's language also states that police officers can be active or retired.
Rep. Lance Harris, (R-Alexandria) introduced the bill because of an August 2015 shooting in Houston that appeared to directly target a uniformed police officer. Deputy Darren Goforth was shot 15 times by a local resident while stopping to get gas. Sheriff Ron Hickman said, “Our assumption is that [Goforth] was a target because he wore a uniform," according to The Dallas Morning News.
Harris said about Louisiana's bill, “Due to what’s going on across the country in every region, I think it behooves us to include our law enforcement officers and first responders in the hate crime bill,” WGNO reported.
The National Fraternal Order of Police has repeatedly called for federal legislation designating violence against law officials as hate crimes. On Mar. 16, they seemed to achieve that goal because Rep. Kenneth Buck (Colorado) introduced the Blue Lives Matter Act into Congress.
“Despite the risk, our law enforcement officers put on their uniform every day so that they can serve our communities,” Buck stated in a press release. “Whether based on skin color or uniform color, a crime motivated by hate is not going to be tolerated in America. By adding law enforcement to the federal hate crime statute, we can protect those who protect us.”
Typically, hate crimes are meant to protect at-risk groups who face violence because of their race, religion, gender, or more. The severity of punishment for a hate crime depends upon whether the offense is a misdemeanor or a felony, but it would enhance the protections law enforcement already have.
Although Louisiana is the first state to introduce law officials into a hate crime bill, it could pave the way for other states to follow suit if it passes.
Related Stories
NYPD Officer Caught on Video Shooting 'Friendly' Pet Dog
A New York woman says that a surveillance video proves that an NYPD officer shot her dog, even though it was playfully wagging its tail.
Jeremy "Hot Mugshot Guy" Meeks Has Been Released From Prison
Meeks went super viral back in 2014 after the Stockton Police Department shared his mugshot on Facebook.
Anthony Anderson's Powerful 'Black-ish' Monologue Addresses Police Brutality and Obama's Hope
"We try to show the family is not monolithic and has a lot of different points of view," creator Kenya Barris said.
