Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes is speaking out against recent congressional reform initiatives that involve eliminating qualified immunity, a law that grants government officials immunity from civil lawsuits as long as they were taking proper actions within the course of their duties. “Peace officers make critical split-second decisions at the most difficult moments,” Barnes said in a May 11 statement posted to Twitter. “Qualified immunity provides officers and public service employees with assurance that taking proper actions in the course of their duties will not jeopardize their livelihood.” The U.S. House of Representatives passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act March 3, which sought to end a number of law enforcement policies, including ending no-knock warrants, chokeholds, creating a national registry to track police misconduct, and ending qualified immunity. The bill failed to pass in the senate, reportedly due to Republicans and Democrats disagreeing about qualified immunity. Barnes said in his statement that qualified immunity is not absolute, meaning that current law does not stop individuals from suing law enforcement officers if …