[ad_1]
It doesn’t matter if he destroys a Back the Blue sign or a Black Lives Matter sign. Governor Spencer Cox says people should stop doing “stupid” things in the name of hate.
“I don’t like hate anywhere or anywhere it’s reported,” Cox said at his monthly press conference on PBS Utah Thursday.
The governor made the comment after a reporter asked him about a case in Garfield County in which a 19-year-old woman was charged last week with criminal mischief and increased hate crime – which makes it a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in prison – after being accused of stomping on a pro-police sign and throwing it in the trash in front of an officer who had just come from give her friend a speeding ticket.
The hate crime charge was made possible after the Utah legislature strengthened its hate crime laws in 2019, expanding protected classes to include not only race and religion, but also “the political expression “and the” status of police officer “.
Cox said Thursday he was not aware of the details of the Garfield County case, but “there has been a lot of negotiation on this bill” to get it approved.
Cox also expressed his support for the Utah police officers while speaking out against stomping on a Back the Blue sign.
“Utah has always been near the top of the nation when it comes to supporting our women and men in blue,” he said, calling his own security service “the best people I have. know “.
“Now, again, not all of them are perfect, and we certainly have a few examples of bad behavior, but they are rare here in our state,” the governor said.
When asked if destroying a Back the Blue sign is tantamount to destroying a Black Lives Matter sign, Cox said, “Obviously I think both are bad.”
“Having to choose” between being “pro-cop” or “pro-multicultural communities” is a “mistake,” he said.
“So, yeah, I don’t think you should destroy the Blue Lives Matter signs. It’s stupid and filled with hate and don’t do it, ”Cox said. “I think, you know, racist behavior can be a little worse, but I don’t know why we have to put it on a scale and still weigh these things.”
Ultimately, Cox said people just shouldn’t be doing things like destroying the Back the Blue signs.
“Just stop it. Stop doing stupid things.
Governor Spencer Cox also reiterated his disapproval after Black Lives Matter Utah founder Lex Scott recently called the American flag a “symbol of hatred” and anyone who flies it “racist.”
The governor called the comments “despicable” and “bogus” – and said they did more harm than good.
“She should have apologized and she didn’t, and that’s her right,” Cox said. “But I think she hurt her cause more than she advanced her cause.”
Cox again stated that he refused to allow these comments to change his perception of the flag, which he called “the greatest flag in the history of the world” which represents “the ideal that all men and women all women are created equal ”.
“I think our flag stands against racism,” he said. “I refuse to let white supremacists take away what this flag represents and I refuse to let Lex Scott take away what this flag represents.”
[ad_2]
Source link