(UnitedVoice.com) – A group of House Republicans is taking a stand against the violence and mob rule that’s taken root in many cities. A new bill aims to push leftist mayors into controlling the unrest by cutting off federal funding if they don’t take action.
Montana Rep. Rosendale, GOP lawmakers to introduce bill calling for 'lawless' cities to lose federal funding https://t.co/jkYznUNpyl pic.twitter.com/ecSIVdtq8l
— 🗣️dubvLIVE.com🇺🇲➡️🌎🔊 (@dubvNOW) May 13, 2021
On May 13, Representative Matt Rosendale (R-MT) released a statement confirming that he introduced the Lawless Cities Accountability Act. “Cities that decided to strip funding from their police departments have seen a major increase in violent crime committed,” he said. “No federal funds should be given to cities that continue to encourage criminal rioting and lawlessness.”
Anarchy Is Spreading
Since 2016, there have been repeated issues with liberal mayors ordering city cops to stand down and let violence run amok. It started with Antifa violence directed at Conservatives and carried on into the Black Lives Matter violence last year. The most notorious case was in Portland, OR, where violence continued for months with the mayor not even pretending to combat it. Other cities have refused federal offers of law enforcement support, and some are now cutting funding for their police departments to appease BLM. Meanwhile, the murder rate in US cities rose by almost 30% last year. Rosendale says all of this needs to stop.
The Lawless Cities Accountability Act would force Attorney General Merrick Garland to determine, within 30 days of the bill’s enactment, a list of lawless jurisdictions. The federal government would cut off funding to those jurisdictions until they restore the rule of law.
What Does It Do?
The bill lays out the criteria for declaring a jurisdiction as lawless. According to the legislation, cities could be determined as lawless if they participate in the following actions:
- Barring law enforcement from intervening to restore order where violence or property destruction is widespread
- Ordering law enforcement to leave an area they’re lawfully allowed to access
- Disempowering or defunding law enforcement agencies
- Refusing to accept law enforcement support from the federal government while widespread unrest or destruction is happening
According to Rosendale, the bill aims to ensure that federal money isn’t wasted on jurisdictions whose behavior “violates our Government’s promise to protect life, liberty, and property.” But the real goal is to restore law and order in areas where the Left has abandoned it. At least nine other GOP representatives have co-sponsored the bill.
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