4 March 2021, Washington DC – The House passed a bill that may prevent deaths such as that which George Floyd suffered at the hands of police.
The legislation aims to combat police misconduct, excessive force, and racial bias in policing.
As NBC reports, “The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, H.R. 1280, passed 220-212.
“A version of the bill passed last year but stalled in the Senate, which was then under Republican control. The House bill passed Wednesday night still has to go to the Senate, where it will need at least 10 Republican votes for passage.
“The bill is named after Floyd, the Black man who died May 25 after a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for minutes.
“The officer, Derek Chauvin, was fired, and he faces charges of second-degree murder and manslaughter.
“His trial and jury selection are scheduled to begin Monday.
“The bill, among other things, would ban neck restraints and “no knock” warrants in drug cases at the federal level. It would also reform qualified immunity, which is a doctrine that makes it difficult to sue officers.
“Rep. Karen Bass, D-Calif., who introduced the bill, said she is confident that House members will be able to work with the Senate to get it passed. She said that after the last bill passed, “many of our Republican colleagues said they thought they could get to yes on this, but they had some difficulties.”
ACTION
Please tell your senators you want this bill passed!
Please contact your senators through one of the channels below and give them the following message, personalized to your liking:
I urge you to support the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act in every way possible. There is urgent need to reform the nation’s police forces.
Naturally there will be opposition to this bill: opponents want the status quo. We cannot afford to allow innocent people, whether suspected of a crime or not, to continue to be fatally shot, suffocated, injured. I call on you to address the gun culture, violence, racial prejudice that is accepted by far too many police forces. No reasonable person can object to this bill, and I will be watching to see how you help it along and that you approve it. If you do not intend to support it, I want to hear from you urgently with your reasoning.
I am a member of gun law reform group One Pulse for America, and I will not tolerate the status quo. There must never be another death like George Floyd’s or Breonna Taylor’s. I am convinced the bill’s changes to the use of lethal force, no-knock raids, and mandatory bodycam use will absolutely save lives. As the police are so keen to say when it suits them ‘if you aren’t doing anything wrong, then you have nothing to fear’: a good police officer should welcome, not fear, the act.
Phone: (202) 224-3121
Use this link to find your senators: https://www.senate.gov/senators/senators-contact.htm?OrderBy=state&Sort=ASC
Once you have made contact, fill out the three fields below and click the orange banner to report taking action!
We need every citizen to vote, however hard those opposed to this try to disenfranchise voters; votes should be informed with access to accurate, full, timely news reporting.
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