New York’s Blue Lives Matter Bill Would Make Cops a Protected Class

Think Progress – by Celisa Calacal

New York has become the latest state to introduce a Blue Lives Matter bill, which would classify assaulting an officer as a hate crime. The bill was introduced today by New York Assemblyman Ron Castorina (R), with support from Council Member Joseph C. Borelli (R) and NYPD Sergeant Joe Imperatrice, the president and founder of Blue Lives Matter NYC.

Hate crime legislation currently only applies to attacks based on race, sexual orientation, national origin, and religious affiliation. But this new legislation would classify cops as a protected class, aligning them with ethnic and religious minorities and the LGBT community.  

In an interview with the New York Observer, Castorina noted the recent attacks on cops in Baton Rouge and Dallas this past month as a driving force for the bill. He also blamed Black Lives Matter protests for provoking violence against law enforcement.

“It’s based on this climate in this country right now where police officers are being abused and they’re being disrespected, and we’re seeing they have a target on their back, in Louisiana and in Dallas,” Castorina said. “You can envision this happening at a protest, where somebody might throw a rock or a bottle or a punch.”

Even without this bill, New York state law already has strict laws against assaulting law enforcement officials. The current penal code classifies assault against an officer as a Class C felony, but the Blue Lives Matter bill would turn assault into a Class B felony. Similarly, while aggravated assault against an officer is currently a Class B felony, Castorina’s measure would make it a Class A felony. If passed, the bill would lead to longer, harsher sentencing for offenders, and may criminalize protesters and groups like Black Lives Matter.

This is not the only measure New York has taken to safeguard its police officers. Last week, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) and outgoing NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton announced a purchase of $7.5 million worth of military-grade equipment for the largest police force in the country. New items included in the massive purchase include ballistic helmets, bulletproof vests, and automatic long guns.

As sponsor of the bill, Castorina has stirred up controversy in recent months. During a debate in May discussing if Roe v. Wade provisions should be included in New York state law, Castorina referred to abortion as “African-American genocide,” and claimed that millions of African Americans have been “murdered” since the Supreme Court case.

Castorina’s bill is yet another in a line of Blue Lives Matter legislation that has been introduced in other states. Louisiana became the first in May to enact such a bill, with lawmakers in Wisconsin, Florida, Kentucky, Texas, and the city of Chicago introducing similar legislation in the following months. Like New York’s, these bills offer hate crime protection to law enforcement, with Louisiana’s going so far as to extend assault to damaging a police car.

Celisa Calacal is an intern with ThinkProgress.

Think Progress

5 thoughts on “New York’s Blue Lives Matter Bill Would Make Cops a Protected Class

  1. I wonder if they understand that when it gets to the point of their elimination that none of this BS laws or paperwork will really matter .. because their agenda will really not Matter
    so will their blue lives really matter if they dont feel our lives matter?

    they really dont think about that now do they.. no forethought in their low IQ numbers

    a “Law” doesn’t stop the actions of a person that doesn’t follow laws, yet their ignorance and arrogance just does not compute this reality

  2. Slight correction. It’s not new yourk its Jew York. As in noun : now entering Jew yourk city.
    I’ve said for a long time – cut it off from west Chester cty down and use some seismic weapons and send them out to the Atlantic. It’s really the worst place because of the communist and Bolsheviks and Sandinista sympathetics. Any who it’s beautiful up north. Yee haw

  3. Just think about it: they’re talking about “protected classes” in America, a country that claims to guarantee “equal justice under the law.”

    As if the very notion of a “protected class” weren’t abhorrent enough, now the state’s pig enforcers — already a uniquely protected and privileged community — are going to be put on an even higher pedestal?

    I predict this will backfire, just as police brutality and horrific prison conditions have already caused some suspects to fight to the death, taking a few pigs down with them, rather than surrender and die in prison anyway.

  4. “But this new legislation would classify cops as a protected class, aligning them with ethnic and religious minorities and the LGBT community.”

    That’s right, lump them in with the fags… where they belong.

    “He also blamed Black Lives Matter protests for provoking violence against law enforcement.”

    It has absolutely NOTHING to do with the fact that the pigs are MURDERING innocent Americans on a daily basis… right, @SSWIPE???

    “Like New York’s, these bills offer hate crime protection to law enforcement,…”

    Have at it, scumbag commie jewb#tches… ‘hate crime protection’ ain’t bulletproof.

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