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U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democratic leaders are pushing for a bill focusing on police reform.
According to CBS News, the bill’s summary includes a “ban on choke-holds and no-knock warrants in drug cases and reform qualified immunity, making it easier to pursue claims against police officers in civil court.”
On Friday, all six of Alabama’s Republican House members, Mo Brooks (Huntsville), Robert Aderholdt (Haleyville), Gary Palmer (Hoover), Martha Roby (Montgomery), Bradley Byrne (Fairhope), and Mike Rogers (Anniston) voted against the bill.
“Few people want to serve in a job in which they are attacked, underpaid, and overworked, and even fewer want to serve in one in which they could be charged as a criminal besides,” said Palmer.
Democratic Representative Terri Sewell, D-07, voted in favor of the bill, along with every other member in the Democratic House.
With Alabama being a Republican-controlled state, the bill will likely not come into fruition or will be blocked. Some representatives do not think that the bill was created in a fair manner, and should have included the views of both Houses, not just the Democratic party.
“It is frustrating and incredibly disheartening that Democrats refused Republicans’ offer to work together to achieve the bipartisan, meaningful reform Americans are calling for,” said Byrne. “Instead of holding empty votes on legislation that has no chance of becoming law, Congress should seize this moment to move forward on the many areas of bipartisan agreement. It is not too late to do the right thing.”