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Louisiana governor signs 'Blue Lives Matter' law

 

 

BATON ROUGE, La. — Louisiana became the first state to make violence against police a hate crime after Gov. John Bel Edwards, the son of a sheriff, signed a bill into law Thursday.

The measure, known as the “Blue Lives Matter” bill, establishes additional protections and increased penalties under Louisiana's hate crimes law for police officers, firefighters and first responders who are targeted as victims because of their profession.

“Coming from a family of law enforcement officers, I have great respect for the work that they do and the risks they take to ensure our safety,” Edwards, a Democrat, said in a statement. “The men and women who put their lives on the line every day, often under very dangerous circumstances, are true heroes and they deserve every protection that we can give them.”

Republican state Rep. Lance Harris said he was inspired to write the bill after he read about a sheriff’s deputy who was slain in Houston last summer while sitting in his patrol car.

 

"I'm very pleased," Harris said Thursday. "It's well past time we had legislation that protects the folks who protect us on a daily basis."

Harris' bill amended current law to add police. Previously, hate crimes in Louisiana included offenses against any person because of his or her perceived race, age, gender, color, creed, disability, sexual orientation, national origin or ancestry.

Under Louisiana's current hate crime law, a person convicted of a misdemeanor hate crime can be sentenced to prison for up to six months and given a $500 penalty. If convicted of a felony, they can receive an additional five years and fines up to $5,000.

Louisiana Sheriffs' Association President Mike Stone also praised the new law.

"My philosophy is all lives matter, but I hope people realize that those of us in law enforcement overwhelmingly want to protect those in our communities," said Stone, who is sheriff of Lincoln Parish.

Others criticized the legislation, especially those who believe police are too often using excessive force against minorities, which inspired the Black Lives Matter movement.

“This idea that the police are under attack, well, all the statistics show that actually the opposite is true, and nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, police are actually even more protected. There’s been less violence against the police,” Ejike Obineme, of the New Orleans Chapter of the Black Youth Project 100, told WWL-TV. “Including ‘police’ as a protected class in hate crime legislation would serve to provide more protection to an institution that is statistically proven to be racist in action, policy, and impact.”

Follow Greg Hilburn on Twitter: @GregHilburn1

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