What is H.R. 55?
(Updated March 19, 2022)
This bill — the Emmett Till Antilynching Act — would amend the U.S. Code to specify that lynching is a heinous crime that warrants an enhanced sentence under hate crimes statutes.
Argument in favor
Lynching is a horrific crime that historically has both hate- and race-based elements. Making it a crime at the federal level and adding a hate crime enhancement would right the historic wrong of lynching and ensure it would be harshly punished in the future.
Argument opposed
It has been decades since the last lynching occurred in the U.S., and the Civil Rights Act has long-since negated the need for a federal anti-lynching law. Lynching would be punishable under other criminal laws, like murder or assault, so this bill would add a redundant crime to the criminal code.
Impact
Federal hate crime laws; people who commit lynching; and victims of lynching.
Cost of H.R. 55
A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.
Additional Info
In-Depth: Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL) reintroduced this bill to make lynching a federal hate crime and explained:
“The Emmett Till Antilynching Act would ensure that the full force of the United States federal government is always brought to prosecute those who commit the monstrous act of lynching. Modern-day lynchings like the murder of Ahmaud Arbery make abundantly clear that the racist hatred and terror that fueled Emmett Till’s lynching are still alive and well in America to this day. It is time for this bill to be voted on in the House. It is time for this bill to be voted on in the Senate. It is time for this bill to be signed into law by President Biden and for our nation to send a resounding message that the act of lynching is immoral and illegal; that we will finally reckon with one of the darkest chapters in our history, and that we are morally and legally committed to changing course.”
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