AL Political Reporter: “For the last few weeks, House Bill 445, the so-called “anti-riot bill,” has drawn the ire of Democrats in the state because of its absurdly broad language that would inevitably leave peaceful protesters arrested and facing felony charges. But for Rep. Mary Moore, D-Birmingham, it’s personal.
Moore appeared on the Alabama Politics This Week podcast to discuss her passionate opposition to the bill and her history in the Civil Rights Movement, beginning when she marched in the Children’s Crusade in Birmingham in 1963.
“Bull Connor turned the hoses on us. They had the dogs out there. I’ll never forget those dogs — they all had the same name and it started with N,” Moore said. “But their goal then was to arrest as many people as possible, put them in jail and they’d lose their jobs and be unable to protest again. That was the plan”
“This (anti-riot) bill is very similar.”
HB445, sponsored by Rep. Allen Treadaway, a retired police captain in Birmingham, would essentially make blocking traffic a crime equitable to domestic violence, and would result in up to a 48-hour jail stay. A conviction could prevent someone from owning a firearm.
“It’s plain to see what they’re doing — they want to charge people with serious crimes for protesting peacefully because they don’t like what they’re protesting,” Moore said. “It’s a real shame we’re back to this.””