Wisconsin became the latest state to float a ‘Blue Lives Matter’ bill to make targeting law enforcement officers a hate crime Monday. The Naked Poison II (2002)proposal was announced by Rep. David Steffen, a Green Bay Republican, just days after five officers were killed by a gunman in Dallas on Thursday night.
It sees Wisconsin joining several other states -- including Kentucky and Florida --discussing similar bills. They are following in the footsteps of Louisiana, which enacted a law expanding the state’s hate crime status to include the targeting of police officers, firefighters and emergency medical personnel in May.
Lawmakers in at least nine other states and at the federal level have floated similar proposals, the Associated Press reports.
Hate crime traditionally refers to incidents where the victim is targeted because of their personal characteristics. The FBI, for example, defines it as “a traditional offense … with an added element of bias” and “a criminal offense against a person or property motivated in whole or in part by an offender's bias against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender or gender identity.”
It often carries harsher penalties. In Louisiana, say, murder could carry another five more years in prison and a $5,000 penalty.
Steffen laid out his case for the bill ahead of its announcement.
"I strongly believe that anyone who targets these brave men and women, solely because of their profession, should face serious penalties."
"Every day our police officers place themselves in harm’s way in order to protect and serve our communities. Over the past several weeks I have been working on the 'Blue Lives Matter' initiative which works to protect those who protect us," he said in a statement.
"I strongly believe that anyone who targets these brave men and women, solely because of their profession, should face serious penalties."
"This legislation sends a clear message that the despicable attacks we’ve seen against officers throughout the country will not be tolerated in Wisconsin."
However, many are concerned about the new bills.
The Anti-Defamation League’s regional director Allison Padilla-Goodman said in May that Louisiana’s law “weakens the impact of the Hate Crimes Act by adding more categories of people who are already better protected under other laws.”
"Working in a profession is not a personal characteristic, and it is not immutable,” she said.
Michael Lieberman from the Anti-Defamation League told Mashablein an email Monday they "oppose these efforts, which we think are unwise and even counterproductive."
Over 300 people were taken into custody across the country over the weekend during a wave of protests in response to the killings of black men by police.
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