Emmett Till Antilynching Act

The Emmett Till Antilynching Act (H.R. 35) was a bill introduced in the United States House of Representatives on January 3, 2019, by Representative Bobby Rush (D-Ill.). The bill was named after 14-year-old Emmett Till, who was lynched in Mississippi in 1955, sparking national and international outrage.

Emmett Till Antilynching Act
Introduced onJanuary 3, 2019
Legislative history

The bill was reported out of the House Judiciary Committee on October 31, 2019, and was passed by the House, 410-4, on February 26, 2020.[1]

As of June 4, 2020, while protests and civil unrest over the killing of George Floyd were occurring nationwide, the bill was being considered by the Senate, with Senator Rand Paul preventing the bill from being passed by unanimous consent. Paul opposes the bill's language for being overly broad, including attacks which he felt were not extreme enough to qualify as "lynching", stating that "this bill would cheapen the meaning of lynching by defining it so broadly as to include a minor bruise or abrasion" and has proposed an amendment that would apply a "serious bodily injury standard" for a crime to be considered as lynching.[2][3][4]

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer criticized Rand Paul's position, saying on Twitter that "it is shameful that one GOP Senator is standing in the way of seeing this bill become law." Senator Kamala Harris added that "Senator Paul is now trying to weaken a bill that was already passed — there's no reason for this" while speaking to have the amendment defeated.[4][2]

See also

References
  1. "H.R.35 - Emmett Till Antilynching Act". Congress.gov. Library of Congress. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  2. Foran, Clare; Fox, Lauren (June 4, 2020). "Emotional debate erupts over anti-lynching legislation as Cory Booker and Kamala Harris speak out against Rand Paul amendment". CNN. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  3. "Senate Session". C-SPAN. C-SPAN. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  4. Barrett, Ted; Foran, Clare (June 3, 2020). "Rand Paul holds up anti-lynching legislation as he seeks changes to bill". CNN. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
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