Anti-protest bills backlash #50

Republican legislators in several states have introduced at least 80 anti-protest bills restricting everything from “unreasonable noise” to wearing a mask during demonstrations in what some are calling a backlash to last year’s summer of protests.

The killing of George Floyd last May 25 sparked demonstrations across the country and amplified national attention to racism in police practices. Media outlets deemed it the “year of protests.” Now, there have been twice as many proposals to quell demonstrations in 2021's legislative sessions than in any other year, Elly Page, senior legal adviser at the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law, which tracks anti-protest legislation, told The New York Times.

“The reason so many protests exist in the first place, whether it’s the civil rights era or Black Lives Matter, is that they are trying to change things about our society and our political system that are fundamentally broken,” said Matthew Delmont, a history professor at Dartmouth College. “It’s important to understand that the anti-protest bills we’re seeing right now are an attempt to maintain the status quo and prevent more significant change that would lead to more equitable systems.”

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