Legislation introduced recently in the state House of Representatives is misguided, in our view.

Rep. Josh Siegel, D-Allentown, introduced House Bill 1698 in the spring that would mandate a life sentence in prison for those who are convicted of violent acts against elected officials. The legislation comes after two such attacks in Pennsylvania in less than a year and shortly predates a shooting against Minnesota state representatives.

“Our democracy is under siege,” Siegel said. “Extreme partisanship and inflammatory political rhetoric have fueled a dangerous culture of violent extremism. This isn’t just a political issue. This is about the safety of those who serve and the stability of our democratic institutions.”

While we don’t disagree, we would ask why the life of an elected official is worth more than the life of anyone else in Pennsylvania. What Siegel is really saying is that the current penalty for violence isn’t high enough to discourage people from trying to kill a presidential candidate or the governor of the state. As we see from police reports, that is true when it comes to violence against any socioeconomic class in Pennsylvania.

We’d be more comfortable with Siegel’s legislation if it acknowledged that current penalties against those who commit violent acts against anyone in Pennsylvania aren’t harsh enough. But limiting his bill solely to crimes against elected officials places the government above the governed – and that’s not what the founders of our country nor the founders of our commonwealth would have preferred.

Political violence is inexcusable. So is plain old regular violence that we see each and every day throughout Pennsylvania. Aren’t we all guaranteed equal protection under the law?