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House Of Representatives Passes Overwhelmingly Bipartisan Anti-Lynching Bill

The bill, passed 410-4, was named for Emmit Till, and makes lynching a federal hate crime.

By Aliza Worthington
02/27/20 03:25 pm

Finally, the House of Representatives passed a bill that was overwhelmingly bipartisan and overwhelmingly necessary. It was also more than 100 years overdue. Yasmin Vossougian reported:

VOSSOUGHIAN: And the House yesterday overwhelmingly passed a bipartisan bill that would make lynching a federal hate crime. The bill known as the Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act passed on a bipartisan 410-4 vote. The measure's passage comes after lawmakers unsuccessfully tried to pass anti-lynching bills nearly 200 times dating back to 1900. Proponents of the bill are optimistic the Senate will approve the house-passed version and send to president Trump's desk.

Did you catch that it wasn't unanimous? That's right, during Black History Month, four representatives voted against the bill named for the 14-year-old Black child who was brutally, sadistically tortured and murdered for existing next to a white woman, making lynching a federal hate crime.

Because I'm all about naming and shaming, those four are:

Louis Gohmert (R-TX)
Ted Yoho (R-FL)
Thomas Massie (R-KY)
Justin Amash (I-MI)

Insert usual bullsh*t, laughable excuses about states rights here, and an especially precious argument from Gohmert that the House's bill doesn't go far enough to punish perpetrators of the crime.
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