February 26, 2020 - 02:37 PM EST
House passes historic legislation to make lynching a federal hate crime
The House on Wednesday overwhelmingly passed historic legislation that would classify lynching as a federal hate crime.
The Emmett Till Antilynching Act, which passed on a 410-4 vote, was introduced by Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.). It is named after Emmett Till, a 14-year-old African American boy who was lynched in 1955 in Mississippi.
Independent Rep. Justin Amash (Mich.) and GOP Reps. Louie Gohmert (Texas), Thomas Massie (Ky.) and Ted Yoho (Fla.) voted against the bill.
The measure's passage comes roughly 120 years after a committee in the lower chamber defeated legislation that would have criminalized lynchings. It also passed decades after the House approved its first bill, by Rep. Leonidas C. Dyer (R), that would have made lynchings a federal crime. That legislation was ultimately filibustered in the Senate……….
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/484742-house-passes-historic-legislation-to-make-lynching-a-federal-hate-crime?amp#click=https://t.co/7rtYWqQKDF