John,
BREAKING: Senator Brian Schatz (D–HI) has announced that he will introduce an amendment that will prevent local police forces from getting tear gas,1 drones,2 armored vehicles,3 and high-caliber weapons of war4 from the military. This important amendment — in addition to initiatives to defund police departments and hold police officers accountable for committing crimes against the public — will help combat systemic police brutality in the U.S.
Contact Congress TODAY to stop police departments from buying weapons of war.
Arming police forces with military weapons doesn’t reduce crime or protect law enforcement officers from violence.5 In fact, police forces that are equipped with weapons of war are more likely to kill civilians.6 Even worse, militarized police forces often target Black and minority-majority communities, where getting killed by the police is among the leading causes of death.7
Local law enforcement agencies have bought billions of dollars worth of guns, explosives, helicopters, and more from the military.8 Senator Brian Schatz (D–HI) wants to end this practice by passing an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act.9 This important amendment will prevent the transfer of military equipment to local law enforcement agencies, but only if more members of Congress support it.
Contact your Senators and Representatives now and tell them to support the Schatz amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act.
Regards,
Dayton
P.S. Stopping this one program is an important step. But the fight to end police violence can’t end there. Please learn from, support, and donate to organizations like Movement for Black Lives, Black Visions Minnesota, MediaJustice, and Stop LAPD Spying who are leading this work.
[1] USA Today
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/05/30/george-floyd-protests-updates-news-minneapolis-response-overnight/5288818002/
[2] Ars Technica
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/05/border-patrol-drone-used-in-anti-terror-ops-flies-over-minneapolis-protestors/
[3] CNN
https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/george-floyd-protest-updates-05-28-20/h_fe6c7f3a71a8b7ec2d4468d883f162af
[4] Courthouse News
https://www.courthousenews.com/minneapolis-police-aggressively-enforces-curfew-against-protesters/
[5] PBS
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/police-militarization-fails-to-protect-officers-and-targets-black-communities-study-finds
[6] CATO Institute
https://www.cato.org/blog/militarization-makes-police-more-violent
[7] LA Times
https://www.latimes.com/science/story/2019-08-15/police-shootings-are-a-leading-cause-of-death-for-black-men
[8] Newsweek
https://www.newsweek.com/how-americas-police-became-army-1033-program-264537
[9] Sen. Brian Schatz on Twitter
https://twitter.com/brianschatz/status/1267187603737964544
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