'Cop safety' is really about cop secrecy, and nothing more

Author: 
Daily Kos

Chicago is the latest city to propose a hate crime law for attacks on police, firefighters, or other emergency personnel. Proposed last week [June 7, 2016] and scheduled for a hearing in late June [2016], the Chicago ordinance would also include persons whose past employment was in law enforcement or emergency medical services. Although other personnel are included in the proposed ordinance, the move would essentially be a “Blue Lives Matter” law—legislation intended to send a message of support for cops. The state of Louisiana passed the country’s first Blue Lives Matter law in late May, and the state of Tennessee is considering one as well.

In Chicago, as in most cities and states in the U.S., hate laws currently on the books apply to individuals targeted based on their race, sex, sexual orientation, disability, religion, national origin, prior military status, ancestry or age, not on the jobs they hold or used to hold—or can quit at any time. Also in Chicago, as in most cities and states in the U.S., existing law provides sufficient penalties for assault of police officers. In other words, “blue lives matter” bills are bullshit.

Activists in Louisiana and elsewhere view these legislation attempts as both a reaction to and a distraction from grassroots demands for accountability when it comes to law enforcement violence.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/06/14/1491339/--Cop-safety-is-really-about-cop-secrecy-and-nothing-more

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