In the wake of the George Zimmerman trial, the Congressional Black Caucus have prepared a set of bills that will address racial profiling, stand your ground laws, and promote better training for neighborhood watch volunteers.

Members of the CBC have publicly lashed out at Zimmerman’s acquittal, asserting that “the nation’s criminal justice system still discriminates against blacks and other minorities.”

From the Hill:

Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), an icon of the civil rights era, said the decision “seems to justify the stalking and killing of innocent black boys and deny them any avenue of self-defense.”

Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio), head of the CBC, decried “the presumption of guilt so often associated with people of color.”

Leading the legislative charge is Rep. John Conyers Jr. (Mich.), the senior Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee and a CBC member, who for years has pushed legislation to curtail racial profiling in the nation’s law enforcement agencies.

Conyers’s proposal is still being crafted, but past iterations have barred any law enforcement agent from targeting people based solely on race, gender or religion. It would also mandate race-sensitive training as a condition of receiving federal funding and require the Justice Department to provide Congress with periodic reports detailing discriminatory profiling practices.

Read more at the Hill

 

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