Show of Hands

Really? People don't set out or seek to kill cops? So those to NYC cops killed last year and the attempted assassination in Philadelphia earlier this year were not targeted? You're a fool if you don't think police have a target on their back.

The philly case was terrorism and if your referring to the Eric Gardner revenge deaths then that was a very unfortunate repercussion from mistakes made by cops and our legal system, not bias that is a result of something the victim cannot control. Obviously cops have a target on there back that's why we have much harsher punishments for cop killers and assaulters but using the term "hate crime" is the wrong term. We use the hate crime term to protect people from extreme biases that don't come from a specific event like revenge. Also If you don't like the existence of hate crimes you shouldn't make the term more prevalent. I will say as well that the federal government has never been in charge of defining Hate Crime laws meaning that the only federally defined hate crime protects a group that is mainly comprised of white males which is obviously very backwards.

Are you out of your mind? It was a premeditated murder of two officers going about protecting and serving. The fact that you are trying to dismiss it as anything else just shows you no nothing about the true climate police officers face today. "Pigs In a blanket, fry Em like bacon" "what do we want? Dead cops! When do we want it? Now!"

Police shooting deaths were down 16% last year and the year before.

However in other news the number of people killed by police are on a steady incline. In the last decade more people have been killed by police than were killed in Iraq. But I'm glad we are focusing on the real issues here in the VC.

How?

Well it's one thing to be accused of assault and another thing to be accused of a hate crime.

Right. You'd only be prosecuted if you intentionally targeted an officer

How would you prove that, aside from the dummies that write "Im going to target the po-po" on twitter??

This code also criminalizes motive rather than action with other citizens.

ndull, that is why I oppose it as stated above

Chimama, insomuch as such laws criminalize thoughts rather than actions, yes.

No and no.

1) "Conspiracy to commit [X]" is an often abused charge that does have a legitimate implementation. No one insinuated that anyone should wait until the victim is dead other than you, so that's an odd question to ask.

2) I do not complain that the police only show up after the fact. That's their primary function: to find and arrest the assailant. That they show up after the fact is not a complaint in the least, but a mere recognition of reality that they don't exist to protect you and that protection of your person and property is a personal duty rather than one to expect from others.

I agree

I agree with what your saying but if were going to have hate crimes, this should be included. I'm going to submit a bill that eliminates hate crimes.

Not a terrible point, Jonah. However, I just can't get behind adding another special group.

I don't believe in doing unto others as they would do unto you. While it would be somewhat funny, I'm going to stick to being consistent and fair. I look forward to Jonah's bill.

I have been getting some messages about bills not being posted yet. I will go through the docket and Virtual Congress profile to make sure I haven't missed anything. So no need to worry!

Summary: Makes it a hate crime to target law enforcement officers

A BILL TO AMEND 18 UNITED STATES CODE § 249 - HATE CRIME LAWS

Section 1: Any premeditated or target attack on a law enforcement officer, including municipal, state or federal, because they are a law enforcement officer is hereby declared a Hate Crime and the attacker shall be prosecuted as such.

Section 2: "Attack" as defined in Section 1 is an unlawful act, be it by hand, explosive, firearm, or any other type of device which is designed to inflict bodily harm.