H.R. 4919 is also known as Kevin and Avonte’s Law
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The US House of Representatives approved a bill on Thursday that allows law enforcement to establish and operate “locative tracking technology programs.”
H.R. 4919, also known as Kevin and Avonte’s Law, passed 346 to 66 in the lower chamber.
The aim of the law is to help individuals who suffer from mental disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease or children who have developmental disabilities that tend to wander off into the surrounding environment.
Advocates of the legislation Texas Democrat Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee and New Jersey Republican Rep. Chris Smith, claim that the law will be helpful to prevent tragedies involving those with mental disabilities.
Critics of the law however, say that the bill is too vague and can be broadly interpreted.
Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert said, as quoted by the Daily Caller, “It is absolutely staggering that the Republican majorities in the House and Senate could be so blind to government overreach that they would allow a federal tracking program, not for criminals in the U.S., not for terrorists, not for illegal immigrants or even immigrants who commit crimes, but for people with ‘developmental disabilities’ a term that is subject to wide misinterpretation.”
However, Smith argued that the bill will meet a previously unmet need citing the tragic death of 100 individuals with autism because they wandered into unsafe areas.
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