Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., is blocking the passage of a Senate bill that would make lynching a federal hate crime, because he worries that it would be used for lesser violent crimes that result in only “minor bruising.”

Paul on Wednesday told reporters that he objected to the bipartisan measure, which appeared on the verge of passage by unanimous consent after more than a century of similar legislation being blocked, because it might “conflate lesser crimes with lynching.”

“We think that lynching is an awful thing that should be roundly condemned — that should be universally condemned,” Paul said.

However, he argued that the bill would be a “disservice to those who were lynched in our history” and result in “a new 10-year penalty for people who have minor bruising.”

“We don’t think that’s appropriate, and someone has to read these bills and make sure they do what they say they’re going to do rather than it be just a big PR effort, and then everybody gets up in arms and wants to beat up anybody who wants to read the bill and actually make the bill strong,” he added.

Paul said in a statement that he aims to add an amendment to the legislation that would create […]