Sens. Harris, Booker Blast Paul For Holding Up Bipartisan Anti-Lynching Bill ‘On A Day Of Mourning’
In a heated and emotional floor debate, Sens. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) said that Sen. Rand Paul's (R-Ky.) amendment to an anti-lynching legislation would weaken it and put a "greater burden on victims of lynching than is currently required under federal hate crime laws."
CNN:
Emotional Debate Erupts Over Anti-Lynching Legislation As Cory Booker And Kamala Harris Speak Out Against Rand Paul Amendment
In an emotional exchange on the Senate floor, Democratic Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Kamala Harris of California spoke out Thursday against an amendment that GOP Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky was trying to add to anti-lynching legislation. As the memorial service for George Floyd was beginning in Minnesota, Paul, who has been holding up popular bipartisan legislation to make lynching a federal crime, came to the Senate floor in Washington to add an amendment to the anti-lynching legislation and then pass it. He argued the bill as written is overly broad and said that his amendment "would apply the criminal penalties for lynching only and not for other crimes." The GOP senator then asked for unanimous consent to pass the bill with that amendment. However, both Harris and Booker spoke against the effort and Booker formally objected. (Foran and Fox, 6/4)
USA Today:
In Emotional Debate, Sens. Cory Booker, Kamala Harris Plead For Rand Paul To Allow Anti-Lynching Bill To Pass
"That we would not be taking the issue of lynching seriously is an insult, an insult to Sen. Booker, an insult to Sen. (Tim) Scott and myself," Harris said, listing the only three black senators that serve in the chamber, each of whom have been leaders on this issue. She called Paul's amendment and his comments "ridiculous" and said the changes he is pushing for are things that "would weaken" the bill and put a "greater burden on victims of lynching than is currently required under federal hate crime laws." "There is no reason for this," Harris said. "There is no reason other than cruel and deliberate obstruction on a day of mourning." (Hayes, 6/4)
CBS News:
Senator Rand Paul Holds Up Passing Bill That Would Ban Lynching
Paul claimed that the bill's language was too broad and could "conflate someone who has an altercation, where they had minor bruises, with lynching." "We think that's a disservice to those who were lynched in our history," he said, adding it was also "a disservice to have a new 10-year penalty for people who have minor bruising." Paul said in a later statement that he would be writing an amendment adding "a serious bodily injury standard" to the bill, "which would ensure crimes resulting in a substantial risk of death and extreme physical pain be prosecuted as a lynching." (Silverstein, 6/4)
The Associated Press:
Emotions Run High As Anti-Lynching Bill Stalls In Senate
The legislative effort to make lynching a federal hate crime punishable by up to life in prison comes 65 years after 14-year-old Emmett Till was lynched in Mississippi, and follows dozens of failed attempts to pass anti-lynching legislation. The Senate unanimously passed virtually identical legislation last year. The House then passed it by a sweeping 410-4 vote in February but renamed the legislation for Till — the sole change that returned the measure to the Senate. (Taylor, 6/4)
