A domestic terrorism bill was passed by the House on Wednesday night in a 222-203 vote.
The passing, which marked an overwhelmingly party-line vote (i.e. 203 Republicans voted against it), comes in the wake of the racist attack in Buffalo which left 10 people dead. During comments delivered on the House floor, per a report from the Associated Press, Rep. Brad Schneider—a Democrat from Illinois—specifically mentioned the attack, as well as Fox News personality Tucker Carlson.
“We in Congress can’t stop the likes of Tucker Carlson from spewing hateful, dangerous replacement theory ideology across the airwaves,” Schneider said. “Congress hasn’t been able to ban the sale of assault weapons. The Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act is what Congress can do this week to try to prevent future Buffalo shootings.”
In short, the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act of 2022 is designed to “expand the availability of information on domestic terrorism” while also doing the same for the “relationship between domestic terrorism and hate crimes.”
As some readers may recall, the House previously passed a bill of this nature back in 2020. That effort, however, fell apart at the Senate level. Similarly, what will become of the 2022 attempt remains uncertain, despite the heightened attention on the bill amid coverage of the red flags leading up to the Buffalo attack.
Speaking in Buffalo this week, President Joe Biden addressed legislative moves aimed at domestic terrorism, saying the country has a “real” problem.
“Part of what the country has to do is look in the mirror and face the reality,” he said to reporters at the Buffalo Niagara International Airport on Tuesday.
