George Floyd’s family meets Biden and Harris [Video]

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• George Floyd’s family met with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris at the White House Tuesday after a year of Floyd’s death.
• Both parties talked about the ‘George Floyd Justice in Policing Act’ bill as Biden expressed his full support to sign it into a law.
• Floyd’s family also met with Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Tim Scott (R-S.C.) to discuss the bill’s passage.

In commemoration of George Floyd’s first death anniversary, his family came to the White House Tuesday and met with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. The Democratic leaders gave the family hope that a police reform bill to be named after Floyd would become a law in the future.

During the discussion at the Oval Office, the parties talked about the ‘George Floyd Justice in Policing Act’ and the departed’s legacy. The bill, which was approved at the House last summer, is presently being negotiated at the Senate.

According to press reports, the meeting went over an hour per the family’s lawyer Ben Crump. Philonise, Floyd’s brother, described the encounter as “great.”

“I know the president was very personal, because he got to know this family over the years,” Crump said, “and he wanted to check on them today of all days to see how they were doing. To reiterate that they are still doing everything to make sure that his legacy is respected, and that involves us going to meet with senators to continue to press forward for the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act that he says he is ready to sign any day.”

Crump told reporters that Biden “doesn’t want to sign a bill that doesn’t have substance and meaning. So he is going to be patient to make sure it’s the right bill, not a rushed bill,” adding that “this is an American issue. This isn’t a police issue or a civil rights issue.”

In a statement by the president regarding the bill, he said that negotiations were still “ongoing.”

“I have strongly supported the legislation that passed the House,” he said, “and I appreciate the good-faith efforts from Democrats and Republicans to pass a meaningful bill out of the Senate. It’s my hope they will get a bill to my desk quickly.”

Per Crump, the family will also meet with Senators Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Tim Scott (R-S.C.) later on the day to align on how to gain bipartisan backing for the legislation, according to the pool report. During an interview with CBS News earlier this month, Scott said that he was “hopeful” that both parties would reach consensus.

Essentially, the bill would abolish qualified immunity among police authorities. Filing a lawsuit against law enforcement officials who committed unlawful actions would be easier. The measure also seeks to prohibit the use of chokeholds and carotid holds at the federal level.

Speaking with the White House reporters following the meeting, Floyd’s daughter Gianna led a chant and raised her fist.

“Say his name,” she said, together with the whole family, per media people present at the event.

Source: AOL.com