Let me start off by asking, do I even need to explain why this is wrong? The ridiculousness of this idea is just undeniably over the top. I can’t wrap my head around the fact that this is the America we’ll be living in for the next four years. Republicans in six states (Indiana, North Dakota, Iowa, Washington, Michigan, Minnesota) have proposed a bill to make protesting a crime, or to be more specific, a felony.
In Indiana, Senator Jim Tomes filed Senate Bill 285. This bill targets protests, riots and/or other assemblies of at least 10 or more people who unlawfully block vehicle traffic. In other words, this bill will require law enforcement to do “whatever is necessary” to clear blockades, including taking someone’s life.
Senator Tomes released a statement saying, “The object of this measure is very simple. We need to keep our streets and interstates open to commerce, traffic, motorists and emergency personnel. Anyone who wants to stage or participate in a protest or demonstration is free to do so. But they will need to do what all other organizations do for an event or demonstration: apply for a permit with their local government. With this information, first responders will know what roads are going to be blocked and what roads they can take when responding to an emergency.”
“A responsible public official shall, not later than 15 minutes after learning of a mass traffic obstruction in the official’s jurisdiction, dispatch all available law enforcement officers … with directions to use any means necessary to clear the roads of the persons unlawfully obstructing vehicular traffic,” the legislation reads.
The co-president of the Indiana Religious Coalition for Reproductive Justice, Sue Braunlin, did an interview with The Guardian in which she stated, “I find it very disturbing and I don’t see a need for this as we have had some large protests here but there was never any problem with them.” The IRCRC posted on Twitter referring to this bill as the “block traffic and you die bill.” She also added, “We have stopped traffic for a short time during protests, with police cooperation. Often they will let us stop traffic and we have not had a problem. We’ve had a women’s rights march and a Black Lives Matter march and it was all very peaceful and coordinated with the police. The bill doesn’t make sense.”
In an upcoming hearing, Democrats in the State Senate plan to attend and express their opposition towards this bill. Braunlin believes the legislation has been inspired by the fierce DAPL protests after members of the Indiana law enforcement were involved in the violent attacks against the protesters at Standing Rock.
I’ve found an article that includes information about bills Republicans have proposed in the states listed above, which you can read here. If you live in any of these states, contact your state representatives to fight against the enactment of these bills. Most importantly, stay safe and don’t give up. The upcoming years don’t have to be torture as long as we keep using our voices.
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