By Erika Aguilar  |Staff Writer|

In light of recent police shootings, states across the country are pushing for the passing of the ‘Blue Lives Matter’ (BLM) bill.

This bill will increase criminal penalties for crimes committed against officers to provide protection for law enforcement and prevent threats against them.

Police believe they are being victimized by criminals and targeted as a hate group for the fact that they are the authority.

The bill could possibly make an effort to reduce that amount by providing protection to officers, especially In states and cities such as San Bernardino, which have a high rate of homicides.

Police would have more protection in regards to their profession with the public knowing that there is a penalty for those who tend to insult and attack them.

“Considering the high homicide rate in San Bernardino if the bill were to be passed, it is possible officers might feel a bit safer knowing things might have changed and make better decisions out in the field lowering homicide rates,” said student Ariano Prieto.

In regards to the bill, Iowa State Rep. Ken Rizer, has introduced a bill in response to the shootings of officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge and now with the death of two Iowa officers, he has the urge to push the bill, according to Guns.com.

“I believe the bill won’t really change anything besides having severe consequences to those that target police officers,” said Prieto.

“The real problem is, we as humans need to look out for each other and treat others how we want to be treated, but the world just doesn’t work that way,” added Prieto.

The first state to pass BLM Legislation has been Louisiana which made it a hate crime to target police.

In this state, the law punishes criminals by a penalty of a five-year prison sentence or a $5,000 fine for a felony made against the police, according to Time.

In other states including Florida, Kentucky, New York, Texas and Wisconsin have now proposed similar bills such as the ‘Thin Blue Line’ legislation.

“By having an increased consequence to injury of a police officer, it may make people think twice about hurting officers,” stated Javier Tello, an Iowa resident.

“However officers who abuse their authority could use this bill to make false claim of injury against a person they target, be it by race, religion, ethnicity, or just someone who they plainly do not like,” added Tello.

Authorities are now describing the police shootings as ambush-style attacks which have given a recall to the BLM legislation, according to The Washington Post.

States continue to push the ‘Blue Lives Matter’ bill, their goal is to reduce crimes committed against officers who only intent to do their job.