Political Quotes

“This amendment makes two small, but important changes to the underlying legislation. It first clarifies the language of the bill to assure those who are prosecuted are acting with some level of intent in injuring a police officer. It does this by changing the language from ``knowingly causing serious bodily injury to a law enforcement officer'' to ``knowingly assaults a law enforcement officer causing serious bodily harm.'' This change will avoid covering situations where someone unintentionally harms a police officer. The amendment also amends the definition of law enforcement officer to ensure it covers all law enforcement officers who are putting themselves in harm's way each day, including corrections officers. Mr. Speaker, this amendment is important because it ensures that, in practice, this statute can be used more efficiently to protect law enforcement officers. It also ensures that nobody who wears a badge will be unintentionally excluded from the bill's protections. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.”