Morgan Watkins, and Tom Loftus

The Courier-Journal

After a lengthy debate, the Kentucky House of Representatives on Monday approved a controversial bill that would make it a hate crime to target police and other first responders.

House Bill 14, which is colloquially but not officially known as the “Blue Lives Matter” bill, passed 77-13 with bipartisan support in the House and will head to the state Senate for consideration.

Last year, Louisiana became the first state to permit the consideration of a victim's occupation when weighing whether a crime against that person was an act of hate. If HB 14 becomes law, Kentucky would join Louisiana in taking that approach.

In recent years, cases in which law enforcement officers shot and killed black citizens amid questionable circumstances have sparked nationwide debates over the use of force by police. But fatal ambushes of officers in Louisiana and Texas last year sent shockwaves through the country too.

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Kentucky's hate-crimes bill was filed by Rep. Kevin Bratcher, R-Louisville. But some Louisville representatives spoke against the bill Monday, saying it was unnecessary and divisive.

Rep. Jim Wayne, D-Louisville, said current laws already allow tougher sentences for crimes against police, and that the purpose of a ‘hate crime’ law is to protect communities that have suffered oppression by virtue of their “birth or beliefs.” Kentucky's hate-crime law currently includes race, color, religion, sexual orientation and national origin as protected classes.

Wayne said this bill is a response to the Black Lives Matter movement, which he said was formed to raise awareness among Americans “to be sensitive to the unique history that the oppressed people of this nation have had to endure under white male leadership.”

Wayne said HB 14 poses a false choice between supporting first responders and the black community. “I strongly reject this type of legislation that pits one group against the other,” he said.

But Rep. John Blanton, R-Salyersville, said that isn't what this legislation does.

"It’s not about Blue Lives Matter," he said, pointing out that firefighters wear red. "How about we call this 'First Responders Matter?'"

As for the concerns people raised regarding the fact that being a police officer – unlike being black or gay – is something someone chooses to become, Blanton indicated that a person's identity as a law-enforcement official isn't something that is easily shed.

"You don’t just take the uniform off and lay it down," he said. "It’s part of who you are."

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The bill's skeptics have said the proposal won't have much of a practical effect in cases involving crimes against officers. Over 35 states, including Kentucky, already have additional penalties for harming officers on the books. And the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky has suggested the bill could be used to more seriously punish protesters who damage property during demonstrations against police brutality.

Opponents of the legislation suggested legislators could take more meaningful steps to improve the safety of first responders by improving their training and pay.

“But this bill does nothing except to pander, and to pretend like we’re doing something for our first responders,” said Rep. Mary Lou Marzian, D-Louisville.

However, Rep. Robert Benvenuti, R-Lexington, said, “There’s no hypocrisy here. There’s no false choice here, this doesn’t need to be psychoanalyzed … This simply says if you execute our first responders you will be treated as committing what you did – a hate crime.”

As Monday's debate wrapped up and it was clear the measure would pass, a group of people in the House gallery chanted "Black Lives Matter" as they left the room.

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