Senator Rand Paul wants a lynching bill to be clarified before he can vote for a quick passage.
The House passed the bill in February, but Paul said on Wednesday that he thought it was a “disservice to have a new 10-year penalty for people who have minor bruising” and that he’s been working with the sponsors of the bill to try to “exclude that part from the bill.”
“The bill as written would allow altercations resulting in a cut, abrasion, bruise, or any other injury no matter how temporary to be subject to a 10-year penalty. My amendment would simply apply a serious bodily injury standard, which would ensure crimes resulting in substantial risk of death and extreme physical pain be prosecuted as a lynching,” he said in the statement.
Paul’s roadblock to quick passage comes as days of civil unrest has gripped every corner of the country, following the death of George Floyd who died from a choke hold.
See The Hill.
