RUSSELL CONTRERAS Associated Press RIO RANCHO, N.M. (AP) — The U.S. Congress is once again at an impasse over a widely backed bill to designate lynching as a federal hate crime. And as in previous attempts to pass anti-lynching legislation, the proposal is being blocked by a white southern representative this time, U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky. Merriam-Webster defines lynching as "to put to death (as by hanging) by mob action without legal approval or permission." Throughout American history, lynching has been used as a tool of terror against people of color to maintain racist social orders and prevent people of color from voting, asserting human rights or seeking employment. Black, Native American and Mexican American activists have sought for more than a century for federal legi
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