“Blue lives matter” bill criticized for its oversimplification

One state rep. doesn’t see it focusing on the root of the issue.

A “blue lives matter” bill gets criticism for oversimplification in Madison this week.  

In a Thursday hearing, Milwaukee state rep. David Bowen was among those questioning the bill that provides for hate crime enhancers for those charged with targeting police.  

Making it a hate crime, Bowen believes, to target police officers because of their occupation oversimplifies the underlying causes of police related violence.

“It’s important to recognize the fact that we aren’t really focusing on the root of this issue,” Bowen said. “Until we do, nothing will change.”

Supporters, however, point to attacks on police as a need for the bill. 

One such attack that’s cited is the one that happened at the end of December in La Crosse. That’s when Daniel Lexvold stormed at officers wielding a section of chain.  He was shot and wounded during the attack.

Bowen adds that tackling all of the issues involving crime, violence and police response would be more appropriate.

“Do we want to make sure that everybody ends up going home at the end of the night?” Bowen asked. “I think that is a true question that we must have.”

Supporters of the “blue lives” bill say additional punishments will serve as a deterrent for those targeting cops simply because of their profession.  

“This should not be a choice of determining if you support police officers or not,” Bowen said of the bill. “The true thing that we should be focused on is truly making sure we can prevent these situations from getting out of hand.”