LANSING — Yesterday a series of bills that would criminalize targeting a victim based on his or her occupation as a police officer, firefighter or emergency medical services personnel, whether they held that position or not, passed the House. In response, state Rep. Abdullah Hammoud (D-Dearborn) issued the following statement:
“I voted no on those bills as they will do nothing to prevent crimes from happening in the first place, instead only enacting redundant penalties after a crime occurs. If the goal was to truly protect officers, they would have taken up any number of Democratic bills already introduced, including my House Bill 4560, which would prohibit the possession of firearms by civilians in police stations.
“I’ve supported increasing funding to hire more officers and first responders and to increase training. At the end of last year, I fought aggressively to ensure that the efforts by some legislators to cut retirement health benefits for these brave men and women failed. That is the real work of government. Unfortunately now this meaningless legislation allows its sponsors to claim a political victory in a battle no one else seems to be fighting. I’m here to vote on sound legislation, not sound bites.”