In response to Saturday's tragic shooting spree in Buffalo, the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday voted 222-203 almost entirely along party lines to pass the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act of 2022.
Democrats said the bill would help the federal government coordinate efforts to prevent future hate crimes and acts of domestic terrorism by requiring the Department of Justice, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security to open offices and create a joint task force dedicated to investigating and combating violent white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups.
The infiltration of the U.S. military by such groups would be a special concern.
The bill faces a tough road in the Senate, however, where Democrats don't have enough votes to ensure it passes.
So why are Republicans opposed to the Legislation?
They say the federal government already has all the power it needs to fight all manner of domestic terrorism. But this bill is politically-motivated in that it focuses on threats from white supremacist and right-wing groups and ignore domestic terrorism from left-leaning organizations and from radical Islamists in the U.S.
That could give over-zealous federal law enforcement too much power to intrude on the privacy of average Americans whose only crime is disagreeing with "politically correct" views and positions.
Some may think the GOP's concern is overblown. Maybe so. It's interesting to note left-leaning groups and civil rights advocates like the ACLU had some of the same concerns in 2019 about an earlier, more comprehensive version of the bill, which they said could be used to unjustly target African Americans and other people of color, Muslims and groups like animal rights and environmental protesters. Democrats took notice and narrowed the focus.
The fact is federal law enforcement agencies already work together to gather intelligence and fight against every kind of domestic terrorism. This new legislation just adds a leftist ideological tinge to it.
Question of the Week
The Question of the Week will be taking a break for the next two Fridays. Here are the responses to last week's question was about Friday the 13th. Do you have degree of fear about Friday the 13th? Do you take any precautions? Or do you think the reputation for bad luck just a bunch of bunk?
From facebook.com/texarkanagazette
- It's actually a good luck day for me oddly enough!
- We had a GREAT Friday the 13th in the alley! I think our collective spirit was the best way to chase away fear or negativity!