Discussion for article #236451
Well, the Right Wing must be happy now. They finally got to see Barack HUSSEIN Obama implement a weapons ban…
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Cue the screams from red state law enforcement and their patrons in 5…4…3…
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It’s refreshing to know that an adult is in Oval Office that actually listens to the citizens of this country. Is President Obama perfect? No, but the fact that he’s actually trying to do his job is refreshing.
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“…to ensure that public safety becomes more than the absence of crime, that it must also include the presence of justice.”
Wouldn’t that be nice?
Unfortunately, the smaller and poorer the police force, the more likely they have been to get the government freebies, yet they are also the least likely to either need them or to know how to use them appropriately.
BTW, I thought those the-police-are-always-right folks were the same ones that don’t want anything to do with the feds…oh, yeah, that’s only if they give things to others, as long as they are giving things to them, it’s okay.
They don’t want to pay local taxes to properly equip their police, but they will let the Feds militarize their police force at everyone’s expense.
These are the same folks who don’t want taxes but if their street light goes out they want it replaced within 24 hours, if they call the cops they want them to respond within 5 minutes, and if they call the fire department they want them there in 2 minutes.
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I’m just not going to feel safe if Mrs. Thomson, the school crossing guard, loses her bayonet and night-vision goggles…
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Snark. In all fairness he should have given arms to the other side. Snark, snark.
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To be fair, Mrs. Thomson does have to deal with some of the most vicious, sadistic, and fiendishly clever 4th-graders in the world…
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What about tactical nukes? How are the police going to provide a credible deterrent to protesters without a nuclear capability? And land mines. How do you expect the police to defend a perimeter without land mines?
Seriously, though, keeping military-grade weapons out of the hands of the police is a step in the right direction. The Posse Comitatus Act prohibits using the military for law enforcement so militarizing the police is just a way around the act. Now if we could just keep military-grade weapons (AR-15s and AK-47s) out of the hands of civilians.
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$18 billion for this equipment that federal agencies have spent on this crap, while managing to give away this armament for free. I can only imagine what they could have used that $18 billion on in those communities that could have been better spent than arming cops to the teeth. Education? Affordable housing? Green spaces? Community centers? Neighborhood watch programs? The list could have been exhaustive.
The federal government also is exploring ways to recall prohibited equipment already distributed.
Uh, ya think??
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Shit, I’m old enough to remember the days when most people still thought of bubble gum when you mentioned bazooka. FFS, now you’re forced to think about it in relation to your local police department.
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And later today on Fox: “Obama undermining local police forces”.
Here is the headline of this story on the front page
Obama Pulls Back Local Police Militarization With Military Weapons Ban
Notice the difference in the title of the actual story.
Bayonets? I can almost see a situation where a grenade launcher (teargas) might be useful… but bayonets, really?
Good! When you train PEACE officers like soldiers, and equipment them that way, they turn into cold-blooded killers!
All this started after 911 when it was easy to believe that their towns might be attacked. At least that was the excuse the wannabe commandos used to get the citizens on board. No matter that their little Podunk Plumnelly is in no way strategic or of any military value to anyone, not even the US. If an invading army makes it to their place, the war is already over.
(Plumnelly: plum out of the city and nelly out of the county, i.e., REALLY in the boonies.)
President Obama will be sorely missed, no matter which party takes the White House in 2017.
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Better late than never. The trend on reeling in the cops is bullish I’ll call it. The to do list is long and possibly not even realistic but the effort has to be made. The other trend that we are now ceasing would’ve ended up in full on bloodshed in the streets.
The cops may be a zero sum game when it comes to violence and gun misuse. Plus they are trained and backed by the very laws that they disabuse.
The cops get more guns and all that military gear, so the public loads up with what they can. This is prelude to war, civil war.
The cops going for 100% compliance by bashing a few unintended skulls and having the list of collateral damage grow to the point that it is the norm isn’t helping. They have completely lost sight of their mission of serving and protecting.
Zero or near zero tolerance for policing that is also against the law has to be the standard. Giving the cops slack to bend the law is just bad policy.
What’s worse is how few are actually trained to use the equipment they were given. And even fewer are trained about when to use it. (If ever.)
So basically, when the blahs get scary, this stuff often gets put in the hands of people who don’t know how to use it correctly.
I am really happy that they’re banning camouflage uniforms. There is no reason for a local police force to dress like they’re about to storm the ramparts.
Of course on my FB page the usual suspects are on there pissing and moaning about how the police are “out gunned.” The same people oppose every attempt to limit cop killer bullets and impose background checks to attempt to keep guns out of the hands of criminals.