Blue Lives Matter

{{Infobox organization

|name = Blue Lives Matter

|image = Thin Blue Line Flag (United States).svg

|caption = Thin blue line flag, commonly associated with the Blue Lives Matter movement

|formation = {{start date and age|2014}}{{pb}}New York City, U.S.

|founders = Active and retired law enforcement officers

|type = Social movement

|location = United States

|key_people =

|website =

}}

Blue Lives Matter (also known as Police Lives Matter) is a countermovement in the United States that aims to show solidarity with law enforcement. It emerged in 2014 in direct opposition to the Black Lives Matter movement{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN1CL2SA/|title=U.S. police deaths on duty spiked in 2016: FBI|first=Sarah N.|last=Lynch|publisher=Reuters|language=en-US|url-status=live|date=October 16, 2017|access-date=March 31, 2024|archive-date=March 31, 2024|archive-url=https://archive.today/20240331200854/https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN1CL2SA/}} and gained traction following the high-profile homicides of NYPD officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu in Brooklyn, New York.{{cite web |last1=Smith |first1=Christopher |title=BLUE LIVES MATTER VERSUS BLACK LIVES MATTER: BENEFICIAL SOCIAL POLICIES AS THE PATH AWAY FROM PUNITIVE RHETORIC AND HARM |url=https://lawreview.vermontlaw.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/03-Smith.pdf |access-date=8 February 2023}}{{cite journal |last1=Longazel |first1=Jamie |title='Blue Lives Matter' and the legacy of blackface minstrelsy |journal=Race & Class |date=1 July 2021 |volume=63 |issue=1 |pages=91–106 |doi=10.1177/03063968211012276 |s2cid=235716239 |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/03063968211012276?journalCode=racb |access-date=23 January 2023 |quote=Blue Lives Matter countermovement, which emerged in 2014 as a rebuttal to Black Lives Matter and gained traction following high-profile|url-access=subscription }}{{cite book|author1=John S. Dempsey|author2=Linda S. Forst|author3=Steven B. Carter|title=An Introduction to Policing|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K69EDwAAQBAJ|date=January 1, 2018|publisher=Cengage Learning|isbn=978-1-337-55875-4|page=34|quote=A pro-police movement called Blue Lives Matter was established in response to Black Lives matter and to the increasing attacks on law enforcement, which resulted in 63 officer line-of-duty deaths by gunfire in 2016.|access-date=January 24, 2019|archive-date=September 18, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200918180329/https://books.google.com/books?id=K69EDwAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}{{cite web |last1=Valencia |first1=Milton J. |title=How 'Blue Lives Matter' trend has emerged as the identity politics of the right - The Boston Globe |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/11/01/metro/how-blue-lives-matter-trend-has-emerged-identity-politics-right/ |website=BostonGlobe.com |access-date=23 January 2023}} Supporters of Blue Lives Matter have called for crimes committed against police officers to be classified as hate crimes.

Critics have said that, while being Black is an inherent characteristic, being a police officer is a choice, and that police officers are already respected in most communities. They add that attacking or killing a police officer already carries a higher penalty than attacking a non-police officer in most states.

History

File:Blue Lives Matter Rally in The Villages Florida.jpg in June 2020]]

On December 20, 2014, in the wake of the killings of officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu, a group of law enforcement officers formed Blue Lives Matter to counter media reports that they perceived to be anti-police.{{cite web|title=Blue Lives Matter|url=http://bluelivesmatter.blue|website=Blue Lives Matter|access-date=June 8, 2016|archive-date=August 18, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200818121205/https://bluelivesmatter.blue/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title=Blue Lives Matter Facebook|url=https://www.facebook.com/bluematters/|website=Blue Lives Matter Facebook|access-date=June 8, 2016|archive-date=June 18, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200618011332/https://www.facebook.com/bluematters/|url-status=live}} Blue Lives Matter is made up of active and retired law enforcement officers. The current national spokesman for Blue Lives Matter is retired Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Lieutenant Randy Sutton.{{cite news|last1=Newsome|first1=John|title='Blue lives matter' bill set for Louisiana governor's signature|url=http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/20/us/louisiana-blue-lives-matter-legislation/|date=May 20, 2016|access-date=June 8, 2016|work=CNN|archive-date=June 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200611144142/https://www.cnn.com/2016/05/20/us/louisiana-blue-lives-matter-legislation/|url-status=live}}

In September 2015, over 100 Los Angeles police officers took part in a Blue Lives Matter rally in Hollywood to "show support for the department at a time when [...] the ambush killings of police officers in cities elsewhere have left authorities across the nation feeling under siege."{{cite web|title=Police, Supporters Hold 'Blue Lives Matter' Rally in Hollywood|url=http://ktla.com/2015/09/27/police-supporters-hold-blue-lives-matter-rally-in-hollywod/|website=KTLA.com|date=September 27, 2015|access-date=November 30, 2015|archive-date=August 29, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200829231542/https://ktla.com/news/local-news/police-supporters-hold-blue-lives-matter-rally-in-hollywod/|url-status=live}}

Legislation

{{see also|Hate crime laws in the United States#Police and firefighters}}

=Louisiana=

The Blue Lives Matter movement led to a state law in Louisiana (HB953) which made it a hate crime to target police officers, firefighters, and emergency medical service personnel.{{cite web |title=HB95 |url=http://legis.la.gov/legis/BillInfo.aspx?sessionid=16RS&billtype=HB&billno=95 |website=legis.la.gov |publisher=Louisiana State Legislature |access-date=3 August 2023 |archive-date=August 3, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230803164208/http://legis.la.gov/legis/BillInfo.aspx?sessionid=16RS&billtype=HB&billno=95 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/blue-lives-matter-law-lousiana_us_588653dde4b0e3a7356ae3ae|title=Louisiana Police Chief Shows Why The State's 'Blue Lives Matter' Law Is So Dangerous|first=Julia|last=Craven|date=January 23, 2017|via=Huff Post|access-date=April 9, 2017|archive-date=February 10, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190210070304/https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/blue-lives-matter-law-lousiana_us_588653dde4b0e3a7356ae3ae|url-status=live}} The Louisiana law, passed in May 2016, makes it a hate crime to target police officers or firefighters. The legislation, authored by state Representative Lance Harris, was signed into law by Governor John Bel Edwards. The law allows for hate crime felonies to carry an additional $5,000 fine or five years in prison, while hate crime misdemeanors to carry an additional $500 fine or six months in prison.{{cite news|last1=Izadi|first1=Elahe|title=Louisiana is the first state to offer hate crime protections to police officers|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2016/05/26/louisianas-blue-lives-matter-bill-just-became-law/|newspaper=Washington Post|date=May 26, 2016|access-date=July 30, 2016|archive-date=May 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200530192949/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2016/05/26/louisianas-blue-lives-matter-bill-just-became-law/|url-status=live}}

The ACLU and others, including supporters of enhanced penalties for crimes against police officers, have opposed the bill.{{cite web | url=https://edition.cnn.com/2016/05/26/us/louisiana-blue-lives-matter-law/index.html | title=Louisiana governor signs 'Blue Lives Matter' bill | date=May 26, 2016 }} The law has also been criticized for weakening the impact of the Hate Crimes Act by adding categories of people who are already better protected under other laws and characterized by their career choice instead of people persecuted for lifelong personal characteristics they cannot choose such as race, sexual orientation, and gender identity.{{cite web |url=https://www.complex.com/life/2016/09/blue-lives-matter-bill |first=Treva B. |last=Lindsey |date=September 6, 2016 |title=Why Blue Lives Matter Is Just as Dangerous as White Lives Matter |website=Complex |access-date=September 4, 2020 |archive-date=August 18, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200818011639/https://www.complex.com/life/2016/09/blue-lives-matter-bill |url-status=live }}{{Cite web|url=https://ucr.fbi.gov/hate-crime/2013/resource-pages/methodology/methodology_final|title=Methodology|website=FBI|access-date=May 26, 2017|archive-date=March 19, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160319115445/https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/hate-crime/2013/resource-pages/methodology/methodology_final/|url-status=live}} That police deaths are decreasing overall has also led some to question the need for such laws.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/may/16/us-police-deaths-decline-2015-fbi-data|title=FBI data showing drop in police deaths undermines 'war on cops' theory|first=Jamiles|last=Lartey|date=May 16, 2016|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=May 26, 2017|archive-date=December 30, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181230031002/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/may/16/us-police-deaths-decline-2015-fbi-data|url-status=live}}{{cite news |first=Martin |last=Kaste |date=September 17, 2015 |url=https://www.npr.org/2015/09/17/441196546/is-there-a-war-on-police-the-statistics-say-no |title=Is There A 'War On Police'? The Statistics Say No |website=NPR.org |access-date=April 5, 2018 |archive-date=April 9, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180409172720/https://www.npr.org/2015/09/17/441196546/is-there-a-war-on-police-the-statistics-say-no |url-status=dead }}{{cite journal |last1=Walker |first1=Savannah |title=Policing Hate: The Problematic Expansion of Louisiana's Hate Crime Statute to Include Police Officers |journal=Louisiana Law Review |date=Spring 2018 |volume=78 |issue=4 |url=https://digitalcommons.law.lsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=6700&context=lalrev |access-date=12 October 2023}}

Criticism

File:2020-06-02-MarinCity-Protest-BlackLivesMatter-GeorgeFloyd 402.jpg]]

Critics of Blue Lives Matter state that one's job does not have the deep identity significance and source of solidarity that one's racial identity can,{{cite web|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/heres-whats-wrong-with-bl_b_10906348|access-date=September 4, 2020|title=Here's What's Wrong With #BlueLivesMatter|first=Jonathan|last=Russell|date=July 9, 2016|work=Huffington Post|archive-date=September 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200902190956/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/heres-whats-wrong-with-bl_b_10906348|url-status=live}} and that Black identity and history is constantly under threat of erasure while police officers do not face this threat.{{cite web|url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/jul/29/black-lives-matter-and-blue-lives-matter-at-odds/|title=Black Lives Matter and Blue Lives Matter at odds|work=The Washington Times|first=Kelly|last=Riddell|date=July 29, 2016|access-date=May 26, 2017|archive-date=November 30, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181130071545/https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/jul/29/black-lives-matter-and-blue-lives-matter-at-odds/|url-status=live}} Another source of criticism is the belief that African Americans in urban areas are unfairly suspected of being thieves and freeloaders, while police officers are typically respected and honored in communities.{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/after-dallas-we-dont-need-to-say-blue-lives-matter-155330/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=July 8, 2016 |title=After Dallas, We Don't Need to Say 'Blue Lives Matter' |access-date=September 4, 2020 |first=Natahsa |last=Lennard |archive-date=August 18, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200818075531/https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/after-dallas-we-dont-need-to-say-blue-lives-matter-155330/ |url-status=live }}{{cite news|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/2885104/the-blue-lives-matter-bill-is-bullshit/|title=The 'Blue Lives Matter' Bill Is Bullshit|first=Jamil|last=Smith|date=May 26, 2016|publisher=MTV|work=MTV News|access-date=April 9, 2017|archive-date=November 30, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181130071550/http://www.mtv.com/news/2885104/the-blue-lives-matter-bill-is-bullshit/|url-status=dead}} Some state that supporters of Blue Lives Matter are intentionally or unintentionally supporting a system of discriminatory policing and racial profiling.

Some critics of Blue Lives Matter laws state the laws are redundant as attacking or killing a police officer would already result in a harsher punishment than attacking a non-police officer.{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/louisiana-hate-crime-police_us_5745ba0ee4b055bb1170c4de|title=Louisiana's New 'Blue Lives Matter' Law On Cop Killers Is Actually Pretty Redundant (UPDATE)|first=Julia|last=Craven|date=May 25, 2016|via=Huff Post|access-date=April 9, 2017|archive-date=December 5, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181205024429/https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/louisiana-hate-crime-police_us_5745ba0ee4b055bb1170c4de|url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=https://archive.thinkprogress.org/arizona-blue-lives-matter-law-a386e3ff6001/ |title=Arizona conservatives finalize redundant, disingenuous 'Blue Lives Matter' law |date=April 18, 2017 |first=Alan |last=Pyke |website=thinkprogress.org |access-date=September 4, 2020 |archive-date=April 13, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413193201/https://archive.thinkprogress.org/arizona-blue-lives-matter-law-a386e3ff6001/ |url-status=live }}{{cite news |website=TechDirt |date=March 30, 2016 |access-date=September 4, 2020 |first=Tim |last=Cushing |url=https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20160328/08115734031/congressman-wants-to-make-attacking-cop-federal-hate-crime.shtml |title=Congressman Wants To Make Attacking A Cop A Federal 'Hate' Crime |archive-date=July 9, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180709220852/https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20160328/08115734031/congressman-wants-to-make-attacking-cop-federal-hate-crime.shtml |url-status=live }}

Others, such as St. Martinville Police Chief, Calder Hebert, say these laws will make resisting arrest a hate crime which has drawn criticism as hate crimes are crimes in which victims are targeted because of identity-based characteristics such as race, sexual orientation, or gender.{{cite web |url=https://rewire.news/article/2017/03/24/kentucky-governor-signs-redundant-blue-lives-matter-law/ |website=Rewire.News |date=March 24, 2017 |title=Kentucky Governor Signs Redundant 'Blue Lives Matter' Law |access-date=September 4, 2017 |first=Michelle D. |last=Anderson |archive-date=November 8, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181108151936/https://rewire.news/article/2017/03/24/kentucky-governor-signs-redundant-blue-lives-matter-law/ |url-status=live }} According to FBI data, violence against police officers, as well as crime in general has decreased without these laws; calling into question their necessity.{{cite web |url=https://www.djournal.com/news/crime-law-enforcement/blue-lives-matter-criticized-by-aclu/article_d6250003-c9d3-505b-88d9-5bda8f9cac6a.html |title='Blue Lives Matter' criticized by ACLU |work=Daily Journal |first=Caleb |last=Bedillion |date=January 26, 2017 |access-date=September 4, 2020 |archive-date=June 11, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200611132830/https://www.djournal.com/news/crime-law-enforcement/blue-lives-matter-criticized-by-aclu/article_d6250003-c9d3-505b-88d9-5bda8f9cac6a.html |url-status=live }}

Frank Rudy Cooper, an expert on the intersectionality of identities and policing, wrote that the Blue Lives Matter movement is essentially an extension of the blue wall of silence, and the newest manifestation of police resistance to criticism.{{cite journal |last1=Cooper |first1=Frank Rudy |title=Cop Fragility and Blue Lives Matter |journal=Scholarly Commons at UNLV Boyd Law |date=2020 |url=https://scholars.law.unlv.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2377&context=facpub |access-date=14 September 2023}}{{cite book |last1=Parks |first1=Gregory S. |last2=Cooper |first2=Frank Rudy |title=Fight the Power: Law and Policy through Hip-Hop Songs |date=3 February 2022 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-009-02236-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=24lZEAAAQBAJ |language=en}}{{cite web |title=Frank Rudy Cooper |url=https://www.unlv.edu/news/expert/frank-rudy-cooper |website=University of Nevada, Las Vegas |access-date=14 September 2023 |language=en |date=16 June 2020}}

Following the January 6 United States Capitol attack, many have called Blue Lives Matter hypocritical as many in the mob were showing support for Blue Lives Matter, yet they assaulted Capitol police officers. Harry Dunn, an African-American Capitol Police officer, described being beaten with a Blue Lives Matter flag.{{cite news |last1=Boggs |first1=Justin |title=Capitol Officer: They beat law enforcement with 'Blue Lives Matter' flags |url=https://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/national/capitol-officer-they-beat-law-enforcement-with-blue-lives-matter-flags |access-date=25 April 2021 |work=The Denver Channel |date=22 February 2021 |archive-date=April 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210425025755/https://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/national/capitol-officer-they-beat-law-enforcement-with-blue-lives-matter-flags |url-status=live }} This has led some to argue that Blue Lives Matter is more about suppressing minorities than supporting law enforcement.{{cite news |last1=Blow |first1=Charles |title=Blue Lives Matter is Over |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/14/opinion/blue-lives-matter-trump-impeachment.html |access-date=25 April 2021 |work=New York Times |date=14 February 2021 |archive-date=April 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210425025756/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/14/opinion/blue-lives-matter-trump-impeachment.html |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last1=Attiah |first1=Karen |title=Opinion: The impeachment videos put the hypocrisy of Blue Lives Matter on full display |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/02/11/impeachment-videos-put-hypocrisy-blue-lives-matter-full-display/ |access-date=25 April 2021 |newspaper=Washington Post |date=11 February 2021 |archive-date=May 19, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210519143458/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/02/11/impeachment-videos-put-hypocrisy-blue-lives-matter-full-display/ |url-status=live }} Trump's pardon of January 6 United States Capitol attack defendants, who collectively assaulted roughly 140 Capitol police officers, led to further speculation about the sincerity of his and other Republicans' support for Blue Lives Matter.{{cite news|last=Fisher|first=Anthony L.|date=January 25, 2025|url=https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/trump-jan-6-rioters-pardons-back-the-blue-rcna188849|title=Trump made a mockery of 'Back the Blue' by pardoning Jan. 6 rioters|publisher=NBC News|access-date=April 22, 2025}}{{cite news|url=https://www.syracuse.com/opinion/2025/01/the-first-days-of-president-trumps-second-term-your-letters.html|title=The first days of President Trump's second term (Your Letters)|work=Syracuse.com|date=January 21, 2025|access-date=May 9, 2025}}