US Lawmakers Are Seriously Considering Removing Military-Grade Weapons And Legal Immunity From The Police

Inside Higher Ed

Due to the massive number of protests that have surfaced across America recently because of errant and abusive cops, US lawmakers are seriously pushing for tremendous reforms that will limit legal protection for abusive police personnel, as well as strip them of advanced military equipment. Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers are in agreement with the said reforms.


Representative Justin Amash, a conservative and vocal critic of President Trump has gained bipartisan support for his “Ending Qualified Immunity Act,” which promises to hold police accountable for the crimes and abuses committed while on duty. It would as well permit civil lawsuits against the errant cops. In a letter to Congress, Amash said, “The brutal killing of George Floyd is merely the latest in a long line of incidents of egregious police misconduct. This pattern continues because police are legally,  politically, and culturally insulated…That must change so that these incidents stop happening.”

Senator and former presidential candidate Cory Booker initiated a list of sweeping reforms to police departments across the nation, which includes stripping them of their military weapons and equipment, even as SWAT and National Guard personnel have been deployed to some areas to handle the protests. Booker’s bill would call for an end to qualified immunity for police, ban the use of chokeholds, and create a national police misconduct registry. Senator Booker said, “Cities are literally on fire with the pain and anguish wrought by the violence visited upon black and brown bodies. There’s no one singular policy change that will fix this issue tomorrow. We need an entire set of holistic reforms to improve police training and practices, and ensure greater accountability and transparency.”

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Donald Trump has spoken harsh words against the protesters, but even some of his supportive Republican group are open to discuss police reforms. The abuses of some of the policemen are just too much for anybody to stomach. Even Senator Mitch McConnell recognized the anger of the people in the horrible death of George Floyd.He said, “In no world whatsoever should arresting a man for an alleged minor infraction involve a police officer putting his knee on the man’s neck for nine minutes while he cries out ‘I can’t breathe’ and then goes silent. Our nation cannot deafen itself to the anger, the pain and the frustration of black Americans. Our nation needs to hear this.”


Likewise, Democratic Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii mentioned that police armed with military gear only will escalate tensions between the police and the people. “It is clear that many police departments are being outfitted as if they are going to war, and it is not working in terms of maintaining the peace,” the senator explained. Even former marine Representative Ruben Gallego agreed that military weapons are not essential in maintaining peace in communities. Gallego said, “As a combat veteran and proud Marine, very little of my equipment or training was relevant in policing Phoenix or other American communities. Our neighborhoods aren’t war zones.”

It just seems logical that the police should not think that they are going to war, maintaining the peace is the job. While it is true that every organization has their scoundrels, even decent and law-abiding cops are seen as the enemy by most citizens because of the abusive deeds of a handful. Hopefully these lawmakers make their reforms work, so that we will live in a better world.

 

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