Republicans are still scarred by the George Floyd protests last year, even though nothing really violent happened in Delaware. But lack of evidence of problem has never stopped a Republican from making you scared of that problem. So here are four new bills that establish four “new” crimes that address violence during protests. I put quotations around “new” because the behavior these four acts address are already crimes.
It is already illegal to loot. It’s called theft, larceny or buglary, depending on the circumstances. It is already illegal to burn down structures during a riot. It is called arson. It is already illegal to blow up a bomb during a protest. I really don’t have a problem with any these proposed “new” crimes, except for the fact that they are redundant and duplicative. Republicans used to be believe that every time the government passed a new law it leaves for the rest of us a little less freedom for the rest of us. I am quoting the West Wing’s Ainsley Hayes there. I suppose that doesn’t apply when racial equality protests are involved.
Senate Bill 223 is a bill to protect poor old Caesar Rodney. It would make it a crime to destroy a public monument during a riot.
| Senate Bill 223 Sponsors | Yes Votes | No Votes |
| Lawson, Pettyjohn, Richardson, Wilson | ||
| Ramone, Briggs King, Postles, Spiegelman | ||
| Current Status: Senate Judiciary 2/11/22 |
Senate Bill 221 creates the crime of riotous burning, which is a class B felony, unless another individual is injured as a result of the riotous burning, in which case it is a class A felony. Conservative and hopefully soon retiring Democrat Bruce Ennis joins his fellow Republican friends as a sponsor.
| Senate Bill 221 Sponsors | Yes Votes | No Votes |
| Lawson, Pettyjohn, Richardson, Wilson, Ennis | ||
| Ramone, Briggs King, Postles, Spiegelman | ||
| Current Status: Senate Judiciary 2/11/22 |
Senate Bill 220 creates the crime of looting, which is classified as a class C felony.
| Senate Bill 220 Sponsors | Yes Votes | No Votes |
| Lawson, Pettyjohn, Richardson, Wilson | ||
| Ramone, Briggs King, Postles, Spiegelman | ||
| Current Status: Senate Judiciary 2/11/22 |
Senate Bill 219 makes it a crime to do the following: (1) Unlawfully manufacture, transfer, or possess, during a civil disorder event, a bomb, incendiary device, Molotov cocktail, or device designed to explode or produce uncontained combustion. (2) Throw, launch, or otherwise use an ignited or otherwise activated bomb, incendiary device, Molotov cocktail, or device designed to explode or produce uncontained combustion during a civil disorder event. (3) Throw, launch, or otherwise use an ignited or otherwise activated bomb, incendiary device, Molotov cocktail, or device designed to explode or produce uncontained combustion during a civil disorder event and injure another person.
Bruce Ennis is back with his Republican friends as a sponsor on this bill. I wonder why he is not on the other bills. Does he approve of looting and the defacing of Caesar Rodney? I kid.
| Senate Bill 219 Sponsors | Yes Votes | No Votes |
| Lawson, Pettyjohn, Richardson, Wilson, Ennis | ||
| Ramone, Briggs King, Postles, Spiegelman | ||
| Current Status: Senate Judiciary 2/11/22 |
I mean, if all you can do is troll the people of Delaware with legislation that already exists, then hey. Maybe we should get the Canadian Truck Caravan to make its way to block up Sussex County and then we can see what this trolling gets them in real life.
Wilmington, you may recall, whisked Caesar Rodney away to safety before he could face “destruction” at the hands of the city’s peaceful protesters.