Louisiana GOP strips George Floyd's name from resolution on police reform

White Republican state lawmakers in Louisiana were up in arms on Wednesday over a resolution on police reform introduced by one of their black Democratic colleagues, calling the legislation “racist” and “offensive,” according to a report from the Advocate.

The resolution — which calls for the state to study law enforcement practices — mentioned George Floyd, the unarmed black man who was killed after a white police officer knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes as he pleaded for air.

Floyd’s death, which was caught on camera, set off a cascade of protests across the country over police brutality and systemic racism against black Americans.

But according to the Advocate’s report, a handful of white Republican lawmakers were offended that the bill included Floyd’s name and the factual comment that he was killed by a white police officer.

Rep. Mike Johnson, a white Republican, was offended by the “tone” of the resolution, the Advocate reported.

White Republican state Rep. Dodie Horton called the resolution “offensive.”

“I’ve never seen a more racist document than the one you’ve brought,” Horton told state Rep. Ted James, the black Democratic lawmaker who introduced the resolution, according to the Advocate.

Ultimately, Republicans stripped Floyd’s name and all references to the fact that black men have been killed by white police officers from the resolution, the Advocate reported.

The move came on the same day Floyd’s brother testified on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., about police brutality and his brother’s death.

“I’m tired. I’m tired of the pain I’m feeling now, and I’m tired of the pain I feel every time another black person is killed for no reason,” Philonise Floyd said at the hearing by the House Judiciary Committee. “I’m here today to ask you to make it stop. Stop the pain.”

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.