Justice for Victims of Lynching Act explained

Fullname:A bill to amend title 18, United States Code, to specify lynching as a deprivation of civil rights, and for other purposes.
Introduced In The:115th
Introduceddate:June 28, 2018
Passedbody1:Senate
Passeddate1:December 19, 2018
Passedvote1:unanimous

The Justice for Victims of Lynching Act of 2018 was a proposed bill to classify lynching (defined as bodily injury on the basis of perceived race, color, religion or nationality) a federal hate crime in the United States. The largely symbolic bill aimed to recognize and apologize for historical governmental failures to prevent lynching in the country.[1]

The act was introduced in the U.S. Senate in June 2018 by the body's three Black members from both parties: Kamala Harris, Cory Booker, and Tim Scott.[2] The legislation passed the Senate unanimously on December 19, 2018.[3] [4] The bill died because it was not passed by the House before the 115th Congress ended on January 3, 2019.[5]

Aftermath

On February 26, 2020, the Emmett Till Antilynching Act,[6] a revised version of the Justice for Victims of Lynching Act, passed the House of Representatives, by a vote of 410–4.[7] Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky has held the bill from passage by unanimous consent in the Senate, out of concern that a convicted criminal could face "a new 10-year penalty for... minor bruising."[8] Paul requested expedited passage of an amended version of the bill which would require "an attempt to do bodily harm" for an act to be considered lynching, noting that lynching is already illegal under Federal Law.[9] 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.[10] [11]

A revised version of the bill that includes a serious bodily injury standard was introduced in the 117th Congress. It was passed by the House on February 28, 2022, and by the Senate on March 7, 2022.[12] [13] [14] [15] [16] The bill was signed into law by President Joe Biden on March 29, 2022.[17]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Why the Senate's unanimous passage of an anti-lynching bill matters. Lockhart. P. R.. 2018-12-21. Vox. 2018-02-06.
  2. News: Senate Unanimously Passes Bill Making Lynching a Federal Crime. Zaveri. Mihir. 2018-12-20. The New York Times. 2018-02-06. en-US. 0362-4331.
  3. Web site: Senate passes bill making lynching a federal crime. Eli Watkins. CNN. 2018-02-06.
  4. Web site: Legislation To Make Lynching A Federal Crime Clears Historic Hurdle In Congress. NPR.org. en. 2018-02-06.
  5. https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/115/s3178 govtrack.us/congress/bills/115/s3178. Accessed May 4, 2019
  6. Web site: H.R.35 - Emmett Till Antilynching Act . Congress.gov . Library of Congress . 5 June 2020.
  7. Web site: Emmett Till bill making lynching a federal crime passes House. ABC News. en. 2020-02-27.
  8. Web site: Sen. Paul acknowledges holding up anti-lynching bill, says he fears it would be wrongly applied . washingtonpost.com.
  9. Web site: Senate Session . C-SPAN.
  10. News: Barrett . Ted . Foran . Clare . Rand Paul holds up anti-lynching legislation as he seeks changes to bill. 7 June 2020 . CNN . June 3, 2020.
  11. News: Foran . Clare . Fox . Lauren . Emotional debate erupts over anti-lynching legislation as Cory Booker and Kamala Harris speak out against Rand Paul amendment . 5 June 2020 . CNN . June 4, 2020.
  12. News: Flynn . Meagan . A black lawmaker's anti-lynching bill failed 120 years ago. Now, the House may finally act. . The Washington Post . March 20, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220320151311/https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/02/21/house-may-finally-act-after-anti-lynching-bill-failed-120-years-ago/?itid=lk_inline_manual_10 . March 20, 2022 . February 21, 2020.
  13. Web site: Emmett Till bill making lynching a federal crime passes House. ABC News. February 27, 2020. February 26, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200226221556/https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/emmett-till-bill-making-lynching-federal-crime-passes/story?id=69229940. live. Ella Torres. February 26, 2022.
  14. News: Sonmez . Felicia . Senate unanimously passes anti-lynching bill after century of failure . March 8, 2022. The Washington Post. March 8, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220308231744/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/07/senate-unanimously-passes-anti-lynching-bill-after-century-failure/. March 8, 2022.
  15. Web site: Senate passes anti-lynching bill . NPR . 2022-03-08 . 2022-03-14. Peter Granitz. https://web.archive.org/web/20220318154711/https://www.npr.org/2022/03/08/1085094040/senate-passes-anti-lynching-bill-and-sends-federal-hate-crimes-legislation-to-bi?t=1647618378693. 2022-03-18.
  16. News: Jeffery A. Jenkins and Justin Peck . Congress finally passed a federal anti-lynching bill — after 120 years of failure . The Washington Post . March 20, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220309142211/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/09/congress-finally-passed-federal-anti-lynching-law-after-120-years-failure/ . March 9, 2022 . March 9, 2022.
  17. News: McDaniel . Eric . Moore . Elena . 2022-03-29 . Lynching is now a federal hate crime after a century of blocked efforts . en . NPR . 2022-03-29.

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