Read on Twitter
Happy wednesday, I'm gonna tweet about @RepKevinHonan and his absolutely abysmal criminal justice record #mapoli
tl;dr, he's been a state rep for 34 years, has run unopposed that whole time, loves mandatory minimums, loves to build prisons, and LOVES to lock up black and brown kids for nonviolent drug offenses #mapoli
Way back in 1988, Kevin Honan sponsored H.2036, “An Act Relative to the Establishment of Regional Lock-Up Facilities” which would have funded new prisons in MA specifically to hold "persons arrested with or without warrant" #mapoli https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/bitstream/handle/2452/549743/ocm39986872-1988-HB-2036.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
Also in 1988 he co-sponsored the bill that made it harder to discipline City of Boston police detectives. H.3167 mandated a hearing before a Magistrate before the Department had grounds to punish a detective. This became law and remains law today. #mapli https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/bitstream/handle/2452/550874/ocm39986872-1988-HB-3167.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
ALSO in 1988, Honan co-sponsored H.5692, “An Act Relative to the ‘Donation’ of Blood by Prisoners”, a bill which incentivized inmates to ‘donate’ a pint of blood in exchange for a 5 day sentence reduction. #mapoli https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/bitstream/handle/2452/553399/ocm39986872-1988-HB-5692.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
This ghoulish law LITERALLY said "sell us your blood to get a couple extra days of freedom." It was repealed the following year. Honan did not co-sponsor the repeal bill. #mapoli
Putting aside the fact that NO ONE who was in office in 1988 should still be in office today, this is just...horrifying stuff
Honan authored “An Act Relative to the Sale and Distribution of Controlled Substances” which created a mandatory minimum sentence of five years for nonviolent drug crime, a law that is still on the books today #mapoli https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/bitstream/handle/2452/550731/ocm39986872-1988-HB-3024.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
...but that wasn't enough for Kevin. In 1991, he authored H.2264, which established a mandatory minimum sentence of two years for possession, sale, or consumption of a scheduled drug on or within 1,000 feet of public housing. #mapoli https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/bitstream/handle/2452/585761/ocm39986872-1991-HB-2264.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
Starting in 1991 (and several sessions thereafter), Honan introduced H.4356, “An Act to Establish a Program Run by the National Guard for Youth in Urban Areas”. This program directed the army to ‘teach urban kids not to do drugs’. Fortunately, this one never passed #mapoli
(it never passed despite Honan regularly re-filing the bill in multiple sessions) https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/bitstream/handle/2452/587853/ocm39986872-1991-HB-4356.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
In 1996 he strongly supported H.5876, the law that gave the state power to try children as young as 14 as adults. That law us still on the books today, though DA Rollins is fighting the good fight against it #mapoli
in 1999, Honan introduced H.2496, “An Act Regarding Truant Students in Boston Schools.” This bill would’ve allowed MBTA officers and Boston police officers to detain ‘truant students’ without a warrant. #mapoli https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/bitstream/handle/2452/705111/ocm39986872-1999-HB-2496.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
In 2003, Rep. Honan wrote H.113, which introduced sweeping definitions of ‘gang’ activity, including groups of three or more people who possess a firearm, that police in would go on to use as pretext to criminalize Black and brown youth. #mapoli https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/bitstream/handle/2452/763513/ocm39986872-2003-HB-0113.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
I just can not express how hard Kevin Honan has worked in his 34 year tenure to put his poor, young, and black constituents in jail and keep them locked up #mapoli
In 2003 he introduced “An Act Relative to Failure to Submit to a Police Officer,” which increased the penalty for ‘refusing to submit to a lawful request by a police officer.’ #mapoli https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/bitstream/handle/2452/766774/ocm39986872-2003-HB-3373.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
All an officer would have to say is "stop resisting" and you'd wind behind bars for 2.5 years. Fortunately that one was too extreme even for Bob DeLeo. It never passed. #mapoli
In 2012, Honan voted for the ‘three strikes and you’re out’ law that condemned third time felony offenders to life in prison without the possibility of parole. He applauded the day it was signed into law. #mapoli https://malegislature.gov/laws/sessionlaws/acts/2012/chapter192
No one should be in the same elected office for 34 years. No one with THIS terrible a record should be in office for a single term. Kevin Honan does not represent the people of Allston/Brighton.
PLEASE VOTE @JordanForMA on September 1st to get Honan tf out of here
