Chris Smith: “The problem is that it would be a very minimal sentence, if it was a sentence at all, a very minimal fine. And the…”

“The problem is that it would be a very minimal sentence, if it was a sentence at all, a very minimal fine. And the difference is the draconian aspects of this legislation, which says that you go to jail for a year and a half simply for sitting in front of the door or on a sidewalk. That does not comport with what I thought American law is all about in terms of justice. And the problem with this legislation is that it blurs the distinction between violence, which I absolutely abhor, and with nonviolent civil disobedience, which has been the hallmark, the staple of every single human rights, civil rights movement in this country.”