Re: 116th Congress - Episode 3: Impeach the Motherf**er
Too bad Rand's neighbor can't teach him what lynching really is.
The bill under debate has an element of BS to it.
The bill adds a new section, section 250, to the US Code that defines federal civil rights crimes. The new section, section 250, is labeled as "lynching."
So what does this new "lynching" section do, or how is it defined? Basically it's defined as conspiring with another person to violate one of those federal civil rights crimes that are already on the books.
But the federal civil rights crimes encompass a broad spectrum of acts, including interference or intimidation related to voting, education, housing, etc... If some idiot attempts to intimidate or interfere with the right to vote due to that person's race, it's a crime, but I don't think anyone would say that victim has been "lynched." So, does conspiring to do it with another person turn it into a lynching?
Furthermore,
there is already a conspiracy element associated with the federal civil rights crimes. It's section 241. Do we need another, just so we can call it lynching?
To me it does seem to cheapen the definition of lynching, which is a heinous part of our history.
Maybe I'm reading the bill wrong, but I don't think so.
Here are the federal civil rights crimes currently on the books, and
here is the text of the bill under debate (you have to scroll down to read section 250).