A new GOP bill proposes a plan to strip convicted protestors of access to government programs including food stamps, student loans, and health care.
What We Know:
- Republican state senator David Osmek, from Minnesota, has proposed a new bill that would bar those convicted of crimes at protests from state financial assistance. The law threatens to make convicted protestors ineligible for “any type of state loan, grant, or assistance, including but not limited to college student loans and grants, rent and mortgage assistance, supplemental nutrition assistance, unemployment benefits and other employment assistance, Minnesota supplemental aid programs, business grants, medical assistance, general assistance, and energy assistance.”
- According to NBC News, the legislation is a response to the aftermath of last year’s Black Lives Matter protests following the murder of George Floyd in May of 2020. As protests continue in Minneapolis following the police killing of 20-year-old Daunte Wright, Republicans are looking to increase the penalties for protesters.
- The motion follows another similar bill signed last Monday by Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Similar to Osmek’s legislation, the bill increases criminal penalties for crimes committed in connection with protests that turn violent.
- Civil rights groups and Democrats are already arguing against the proposal claiming it is a threat to First Amendment protections and would adversely target Black and Brown people.
Although the Minnesota State Senate is under GOP rule, the House and governor’s office are held by the Democrats making the law unlikely to pass.
