The bill is very slightly more nuanced than is being reported, but, this is not going to be good optics for the Democratic Party in campaign commercials
Virginia Senate advances bill to downgrade charge for assaulting police, end mandatory jail term
The Virginia Senate this week approved a bill that would let the charge of assaulting a police officer be a misdemeanor instead of a felony, and eliminate the mandatory jail term for being convicted of such a crime.
The Senate’s vote was 21-15 on Wednesday night, WSLS-TV of Roanoke reported. The bill now shifts to the state House for its consideration. Democrats control both chambers of the state Legislature as well as the governor’s office.
Senate Bill 5032Â was proposed as the nation’s police departments face broad scrutiny over use of force against African-Americans and other minorities.
A judge could downgrade a charge of assaulting an officer to a misdemeanor if the victim is not physically harmed as a result of the attack, WSLS reported.
That’s the slightly nuanced part. The bill doesn’t really lay out what “not physically harmed” looks like, so, you can bet leftist judges would be reducing the charges constantly. The bill was strictly partisan. 21 Democrats voted for, 15 Republicans voted against
“What in the world are we doing here?” state Sen. John Cosgrove Jr., a Republican, asked, according to The Washington Post. “Have you watched television for the last couple of weeks? Have you seen what our police officers are going through? And here we are with a bill that’s going to actually make it easier for someone to actually assault a police officer.â€
Democrats countered that the bill would help address inequities in the state’s criminal justice system, The Washington Post reported.
So, wait, are Democrats saying that black people are more likely to attack police officers? Seems rather a racist attitude, don’t you think? Anyhow, it’s not just police officers
A summary of the bill states it would eliminate “the mandatory minimum term of confinement for an assault and battery committed against a judge; magistrate; law-enforcement officer; correctional officer; person directly involved in the care, treatment, or supervision of inmates; firefighter; or volunteer firefighter or any emergency medical services personnel and provides that such crime can no longer be committed as a simple assault and must result in a bodily injury.”
So, think ambulance personnel will want to go into dangerous areas? Will Virginia Governor Ralph “Coonman” Northam sign this if fully passed by the Virginia General Assembly? This is exactly the type of thing that should make super early voting and mail in voting banned: parties doing bad things after people have voted.
