U.S. Senator Pat Toomey, Republican for Pennsylvania, and John McNesby, the president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5 in Philadelphia, offer a piece in support of the Thin Blue Line Act in the
Philadelphia Inquirer.
Our law enforcement officers deserve to know that, yes, their lives also matter. And it is time for Congress to take action to show that anyone who commits violence against police will be held accountable.
We call on Congress to enact the Thin Blue Line Act, which ensures that those who murder or target police officers or first responders face a harsh penalty. The act provides that when a federal jury evaluates whether to impose the death penalty, it should take into account whether the defendant murdered or targeted a law enforcement officer or other first responder.
Congress has long recognized that additional deterrence in the form of harsher penalties is needed to protect federal law enforcement from violence. The Thin Blue Line Act reasonably expands that level of justice to local law enforcement officers and to other first responders. It also enhances the penalty when a defendant targets a public safety officer solely because that officer chose to protect and serve.
You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:
http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/inquirer/20151011_Standing_up_for_police_officers.html
