Hopefully after the events of this past weekend, these bills will never get passed, anywhere. But it seems there are better ways to respond to protests than providing cover for potentially fatal criminal activity. Arrests, fines, jail time are all fine. Those performing acts of civil disobedience should expect to pay when they break the law. If the cause is worth the action…
But these bills are totally unwarranted and on their face are criminally actionable for the legislators as far as I am concerned…condoning violence…essentially legalizing road rage. Read here:
Republican lawmakers in six states have pushed this year for legal protections for motorists who hit protesters blocking traffic.
The lawmakers say their goal has never been to incite violence, but to shield drivers from costly lawsuits for accidents they blame on illegal street protests. Bills in Texas and North Carolina to protect drivers from civil liability if they unintentionally injure or kill protesters remain pending, but their chances of passage appear dim after Saturday’s attack in Charlottesville, Virginia, which killed a woman and injured at least 19 people. The four other bills were voted down or failed without advancing.
The bills are part of a backlash to large, disruptive protests over the last year against police shootings of black men, the Dakota Access pipeline and policies of the Trump administration. Some shut down major freeways, angering motorists and drawing concern from public safety officials.
Critics, including the American Civil Liberties Union, labeled them “hit and kill” bills that undermine free assembly and embolden extremists by suggesting they have a free pass to drive through protesters.
Isn’t there a lick of sense left anywhere amongst the Republican electeds?
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