Congressional legislation titled “Blue Lives Matter,” which would make cop killing a “hate crime,” will move to a floor vote in September, despite having no Democrat support.
With year-on-year gunfire deaths of police up 94 percent 16 Republican sponsors will bring the Blue Lives Matter Act, to debate and a floor vote when the U.S. House and Senate return from their summer recess.
There have been 66 police officers and 24 police K9s who have died in the line of duty in 2016, according to the “Officer Down Memorial” web site.
The Louisiana legislature recently passed a “Blue Lives Matter” law at the state level, and Democrat Gov. John Bel Edwards, whose family includes four generations of police officers, signed it in May to add up to five years to prison sentences for “targeting” police.
The covered classes include police, firefighters and emergency medical responders, on a list of “hate crime” criteria including race, age, gender, religion, color, creed, disability, sexual orientation, national origin, or ancestry.