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Congressman Jerry Carl (R-Mobile) issued the following statement regarding his cosponsorship of Rep. Don Bacon’s (NE-02) Back the Blue Act and Rep. John Rutherford’s (FL-04) Protect and Serve Act of 2021. These actions will protect police officers and better equip them to do their jobs to keep our communities safe.

“I’m proud to do all I can on the Federal level to support law enforcement in south Alabama and all over the country. Police officers willingly choose an incredibly tough job with long hours and inadequate pay, so it is critical for us to give them the support and respect they need. Now, more than ever, police officers need increased resources and increased support from the communities they serve. While some folks around the country are calling for defunding or disbanding the police, I’m proud to be a tireless supporter of law enforcement, and I will always Back the Blue.”

Rep. Bacon’s Back the Blue Act will defend the police by: creating a new federal crime for killing, attempting to kill, or conspiring to kill a federal judge, federal law enforcement officer, or federally funded public safety officer; creating a new federal crime for assaulting a federally funded law enforcement officer; creating a new federal crime for interstate flight form justice to avoid prosecution for killing, attempting to kill, or conspiring to kill a federal judge, federal law enforcement officer, or federally funded public safety officer; creating a specific aggravating factor for federal death penalty prosecutions; expanding self-defense and Second Amendment rights for law enforcement officers; and opening up grant funding to strengthen relationships between police and communities.

Rep. Rutherford’s Protect and Serve Act of 2021 will defend the policy by creating enhanced penalties for anyone who targets law enforcement officers and purposefully harms them; and by creating a penalty of up to 10 years imprisonment for someone who attacks and injures an officer and a penalty of life in prison for someone who kills or kidnaps an officer.

Congressman Carl’s office can be reached at 202-225-4931.