Article from For Liberty by Norm Leahy.
Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul (R) has been a long-time advocate of demilitarizing America’s law enforcement agencies. In a new op-ed for Reason Magazine, Paul makes the case for new legislation intended to make police into peace officers once again, rather than soldiers in a war on crime.
The key: Paul says it’s curbing a long-standing Pentagon program from giving surplus battlefield weapons and equipment to local departments:
In a free society, citizens should be able to easily distinguish between civilian law enforcement tasked with keeping the peace in our communities and the armed forces tasked with protecting our country from foreign adversaries.
Unfortunately, thanks to the federal government flooding our neighborhoods with billions of dollars of military equipment and property over the years, the line between peace officer and soldier of war has become increasingly blurry.
Police officers have an incredibly difficult and often thankless job where they lay their lives on the line every day. Without the rule of law, a civilized society cannot exist, and our officers deserve our gratitude. The horrific actions of a few bad actors should not erase all the good done by the vast majority of these brave and hardworking men and women.
But as the federal government has enabled our local police to become more and more militarized, it has placed them in greater danger by eroding the community trust crucial to doing their jobs well.
Giving local departments MRAPs and military-grade drones creates an incentive to use them. That incentive turns departments that should be protecting communities into armies intent on occupying them, instead.
You can read the entire piece here. For more information on Paul’s bill, the “Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement Act,” click here.
Image Credit: By Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America (Rand Paul) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
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Someone needs to have a little talk with him. I’m sure he can see the light.
Maybe he needs to step in about the Officer in Atlanta , Ga who has been deemed guilty of murder due to , Atlanta District Attorney Paul Howard never followed proper procedure. The film shows the truth, the officer was doing his job.
During these times when the corporate media is waging a war against our protectors and friends, the police, they have to be armed with as much protection as possible. We certainly don’t want them to be “sittin ducks” for the violent elements in our of control society who wouldn’t hesitate to murder them, of course with the complete support of the agitators in the vile corporate media.
Dear Sir, “BLUE LIVES MATTER” I’am your fan but suggest you wake up and open your eyes relative to what is transpiring in our country. The Police need every tool they can manage to keep us safe. If this is your attitude I’am your Enemy.
“BLUE LIVES MATTER” Did you call the police when the animal attacked you ?
(criminal lives not at all)
I get your point. The problem is that the same politicians who are holding the police back, would gladly turn them loose with their military equipment to do a gun grab on peaceful gun owners.
JOHN…GIVE YOURSELF A CIGAR & DRINK ON ME !! You hit the nail on the head !!!
Let the Country go to hell, & people will DEMAND FORCE!! The Police do not need Armored tanks, cars, Humvee’s with 50 cal guns sitting in their garage. That’s what we have the National Guard for & they can be deployed to assist the Police. The problem was the Blue State Governors sat on their fat azz’s while their cities burned. Let’s not fall into that trap..
Congress unfortunately is bought and paid for mostly by China. Giving military equipment to the police even if you could make a case for it, would not make any difference when they have been told to stand down by criminal politicians who are allowing cities, businesses and towns to burn down. If military was needed they could be sent in, but the police could easily handle these insurrections if they were not being perpetuated by criminal local politicians.
Rand go home and get your ass kicked again by your neighbor & you can call those military cops again to save your boney ass
😂😄😅 Rand is always a turncoat Rino
Rand you’re a douche. Our police need the equipment so they can protect themselves against the animals attacking them. It seems to be so easy for cowards like you who don’t risk anything to tell those that do what they need and how they should do it.
Rand, I hope and Pray that the Antifa Mob doesn’t show up in front of your house threatening to B-urn, L- oot, M- urder!! If you try to defend yourself, good luck on NOT Being Arrested!! Then if you call the Police, they should say “Sorry, call your Mayor,”
We need soldiers when we are dealing with terrorists
The trouble with Rand Paul is he has never got over the fact that he had such a poor showing against Trump in the primaries. He’slike Hillary, he still thinks he won.
Sen Paul: I really like you and your father. In most areas you are spot on and I totally agree with your common sense approach to things. But in this instance I have to disagree with you entirely. I don’t care what the police have to do to get these “riots” to stop. And that includes shooting a few of them if they have to. That’s about all these anarchists will understand. Sorry, but you’re absolutely wrong in this case.