MENU
SEARCHKentucky Gov. Matt Bevin has signed into law legislation that makes it a hate crime to attack a police officer or emergency responder. The state joined Louisiana as the only other state with a "Blue Lives Matter" law.
Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin has signed into law legislation that makes it a hate crime to attack a police officer or emergency responder. The state joined Louisiana as the only other state with a "Blue Lives Matter" law, reports the Washington Examiner .
The bill had drawn opposition from civil rights groups after Rep. Kevin Bratcher, a Republican from Louisville, filed it in the wake of the slayings of five Dallas police officers over the summer.
When the law goes into effect July 1, the "hate crime" designation applies to charges like criminal mischief and rioting, as well as to assault, menacing, abuse, unlawful imprisonment, rape, and arson.
Judges and parole boards will also be given more discretion in denying probation or parole both during the sentencing process and afterward for those convicted of hate crimes.
