Following George’s State of the Union address, in which he announced plans to create faith-based anti-gang initiatives, I predicted it was a WH step towards “staking out a new victim to feed its white cracker base.”
House ‘Gang’ Bill Criticized by Youth Advocates
by Michelle Chen
Claiming to be cracking down on a crime epidemic, the House of Representatives passed legislation yesterday that would dramatically expand federal jurisdiction over so-called “gang crimes.” If enacted as law, the bill would raise minimum sentencing guidelines for a wide range of offenses, subject more youth to the adult court and prison systems, and provide millions of federal dollars for anti-gang law enforcement measures.
The Gang Deterrence and Community Protection Act, sponsored by Representative Randy Forbes (R-Virginia) and passed by a 279 to 144 margin, sets as its target any “formal or informal group or association of three or more individuals, who commit two or more gang crimes,” at least one of which is categorized as “violent,” according to definitions in the legislation.
The bill would establish a minimum ten-year prison sentence for all “gang crimes” and a minimum twenty-year sentence for gang-related assaults that cause “serious bodily injury.” It would also make any gang crime resulting in a death — even if unintentional — eligible for capital punishment.
[…]
The bill’s definition of a “gang” offense encompasses an array of crimes that could technically include resisting arrest, drug dealing and immigrant smuggling. Three or more individuals who commit designated “gang” offenses are considered gang members, even if they do not identify themselves as such. Critics say that Congress is seeking to implement this blanket definition of gang activity in order to create a new category of offenses subject to draconian federal penalties.
Even if they don’t identify themselves as such.
Of all arguments Republicans made against the Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act, which expanded 30-year-old federal hate crimes laws to include crimes against gay men and lesbians, the strongest was that it gave “the federal government too much power, by allowing it to put major emphasis on criminal thought instead of criminal action.” Apparently, the feds can read some minds better than others.
But the bill doesn’t stop at giving authorities the right to declare when 3 or more people hanging out constitutes gang activity. Amoungst other nefarious actions it:
One of the most controversial provisions of the bill would grant prosecutors, in felony cases involving a legally defined “crime of violence,” the authority to charge 16- and 17-year-old defendants as adults under federal law, without any opportunity for judicial review. The bill’s expanded definition of “violent crime” includes drug-related offenses that may not actually involve physical harm.
Too bad they didn’t stay gone.