With support from Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan is hoping to push his proposed legislation, which ups the penalties against cop killers, across the finish line.
Buchanan, R-Longboat Key, first introduced the Thin Blue Line Act in 2017, but it has never been signed into law. In a joint press conference Monday morning at the Bradenton Police Department, Moody announced that the bill has her full support, Bradenton.com reports.
“We will protect those that have signed up for these dangerous jobs to protect us. We will not tolerate the rise of lawlessness against our police officers,” Moody said.
The Thin Blue Line bill would allow juries to consider any murder or attempted murder of a police officer, firefighter or other first-responders as an “aggravating factor” in death penalty considerations. The rule already applies to federal law enforcement officers who are killed in the line of duty.
The U.S. House of Representatives previously voted in support of the Thin Blue Line Act in 2017. Buchanan said he’s hopeful that the House will vote to pass it again and get the bill to the U.S. Senate, which also needs to vote on the bill before it heads to President Joe Biden’s desk.
Monday’s press conference comes after a deadly attack on a Nassau County sheriff’s deputy Friday.