While I don’t want journalists assaulted, our first amendment right makes us all journalists, so what would the criteria be? Would we need to start registering journalists, where do we draw the line? Do you need to work 5 days a week for a news paper or could you just be an independent contributor to a blog? And once we establish what a journalist is, does the first amendment right to the freedom of the press only apply to them? If it doesn’t, then why not consider that person a journalist too? If you whip your phone out and start filming your assault would that instantly make it federal? And why does the federal government not trust local legal systems to prosecute assaults on journalists? See how confusing something that sounds simple can get! Let’s keep local crimes at a local level.