The bill had bipartisan support, and easily passed both the House and Senate. The Clintons have pointed out that both black politicians and community leaders backed the law, and in general supported increased law enforcement in order to help quell street violence destroying communities.

But a recent New York Times op-ed calls this a "selective hearing" of what African American leaders were asking for and points out that members of the Congressional Black Caucus asked for provisions in the bill that were left out."Policy makers pointed to black support for greater punishment and surveillance, without recognizing accompanying demands to redirect power and economic resources to low-income minority communities," according to the piece, written by three Ivy League professors of history and African American studies. "When blacks ask for better policing, legislators tend to hear more instead."