Justice
Should It Be a Hate Crime to Assault Police?
A New York state representative wants to pass a “Blue Lives Matter” law that would make police officers a protected class.
Ronald Castorina, a New York State Assemblyman from Staten Island, has proposed a bill that would make it a hate crime to physically assault a police officer. The so-called “Blue Lives Matter” bill would register police as a protected class in the state, adding “uniform” to race, gender, age, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, and religious status.
For police unions, it’s a no-brainer. But for everybody else, including police officers themselves, expanding hate laws to include “uniform” as a protected class won’t solve the problems—real and imagined—that the bill’s supporters hope to address.