NYS State Senator Eric Adams Introduces Legislation To Make The Criminal Use Of A Hangman’s Noose A Felony

NYS Assemblyman Alec-Brook Krasny at a press conference concerning the recent displays of a “hangman’s noose” at Columbia Teachers College and other public venues. Senator Adams announced that he will be one of the primary sponsors of legislation that will make it a felony to use a “hangman’s noose” as a criminal tool of harassment.  The bill will criminalize the drawing or hanging of a noose on any real property without the owner’s permission.  The proposed statute will add the “hangman’s noose” to a recently passed law that has made it a felony to attach a swastika to or burn a cross on another person’s real property. 

Senator Adams states: “The hangman’s noose is emblematic to many African-Americans of a painful history.  It has long been a symbol of violence.  The new bill will send the strong, explicit message that our state will not be a safe haven for those who would re-visit this terrible past. “