(Des Moines, IA) — Republicans in the Iowa Senate passed what is likely the final version of a bill that would increase liability protection for police and raise the penalties for rioting that causes property damage. G-O-P Senator Julian Garrett of Indianola said it’s a necessary response to rioting that happened during some of last summer’s racial justice protests. Democrats voted against the bill. Senator Rob Hogg of Cedar Rapids argued the legislature didn’t rush to increase penalties after repeated rioting in Ames led Iowa State University to cancel its annual VEISHEA celebration in 2014. Hogg said, “Oh, those were just some white kids acting poorly. We don’t need to increase the criminal penalties, but when black people cry out in their angst…(what is) the Republican answer in the legislature?…Let’s increase the penalties by 150 percent.” The Iowa House must give final approval before it goes to Governor Kim Reynolds. Republican legislators left one of the governor’s priorities out of the bill – a ban on racial profiling.
