An Oklahoma Senator is set to bring the bill to Congress in February that will make wearing a hoodie a crime; riles up anti-racial profiling advocates
Don Barrington, a Republican Senator from Oklahoma, is set to introduce a bill this upcoming February that will ban the donning of hooded sweatshirts or “hoodies”, making it a crime.
According to a report on Oklahoma’s Channel 6 News, the alleged crime is punishable with fines ranging from $50 to $500 and even suggests up to one year of active jail time. So hoodies can be worn, it just can’t cover the face. CNN Legal Analyst Sunny Hostin says it’s obvious this rule is about race.
This is about the pretext of being able to stop young African American males. Hoodie is code for thug in many places and I think businesses shouldn’t be in the business of telling people what to wear.
The signs, at the entrance of the Mounds Mall in Anderson, Indiana since 2004, warn visitors “For the safety and well-being of everyone, please lower your hoodie.”
Similar laws banning hoodies and other face-coverings are already in law books of 10 US states, according to a report in Time Magazine; even in Australia trials have been conducted. These types of laws seem to only encourage discrimination or racial profiling, similar to the “Stop-and-Frisk” campaign in NYC. The widespread practice of stopping residents for what was deemed “suspicious” behavior, has been the defining tactic of the NYPD.
No question about it, violent crime will go up.
Said NYPD Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly when asked what will be the outcome if “Stop-and-Frisk” ceased.
-Infinite Wiz (@InfiniteWiz)
