The Politicization of Policing
On the surface, Ken Buck’s “Blue Lives Matter” proposal looks good. Like Mr. Buck said, “I can’t imagine anyone would be opposed to protecting police officers.” I agree. My brother is a cop. I would do anything to protect him and his fellow officers.
But Mr. Buck’s bill is not intended to protect police officers. It is a cynical political ploy designed to further divide our country and to garner votes for himself and his Right Wing colleagues.
Conservatives typically oppose laws for hate crimes, which they often refer to as “thought crimes.” They maintain that all violent crimes should be prosecuted vigorously, regardless of who the victim might be. Colorado and many other states already require either the death penalty or life without parole for the killing of a police officer. There is no legal or prosecutorial benefit to be gained by classifying the killing of a police officer as a hate crime. There is, however, a strong potential political benefit to be had by exploiting the deaths of these honorable men and women.
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