It became very emotional on the Senate floor as Democratic senators Kamala Harris and Cory Booker debated anti-lynching legislation that is being held up by Republican Sen. Rand Paul.
READ MORE: Decades after his murder, House finally passes Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Bill
As the memorial for George Floyd took place in Minneapolis, Paul wanted to add an amendment to anti-lynching legislation named after Emmett Till, who was 14 when he was murdered in Mississippi in 1955.
(Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
“I seek to amend this legislation not because I take lynching lightly, but because I take it seriously, and this legislation does not,” Paul said, arguing that “this bill would cheapen the meaning of lynching by defining it so broadly as to include a minor bruise or abrasion.
Harris, the only Black female senator, argued that Paul was trying to weaken a bill that had already passed in February.
READ MORE: House to vote on 120-year-old long overdue anti-lynching bill
Paul’s amendment failed on Thursday and the anti-lynching legislation is now stalled.
