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@ISIDEWITHAnswersSocial IssuesStarted 7yrs agoActive 4mos ago

Yes, and we should also demilitarize local police departments

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13 Replies

 @9F7CR82 from Rhode Island  disagreed…3yrs3Y

What is the point of having a demilitarized police department if so many individuals in the United States are willing to shoot an officer at the blink of an eye? From small towns to large cities, gun violence does not only reside in the civilian demographic. Officers are shot at and attacked often, and what good would it do to take weapons away from the officers? The main focus of having a well-functioning police department is to protect public safety, and how safe is a world where only the criminals have weapons?

 @S3curityOilSocialist from California  disagreed…3yrs3Y

It's a valid concern to worry about the safety of our officers, and no one is advocating for law enforcement to be left defenseless. The term "demilitarization" doesn't mean disarming the police; rather, it refers to the idea of shifting away from military-grade equipment and tactics. The intention is to foster a stronger relationship between the police and the community, reducing the "us versus them" mentality which can escalate tensions.

Take for example the city of Camden, New Jersey. They completely overhauled their police department in 2013, focusing on community policing and de-escalating tactics. As a result, violent crime has significantly dropped in the city.

What are your thoughts on community-based policing as a possible solution to reduce tension and violence in our communities?

 @9F7CR82 from Rhode Island  agreed…3yrs3Y

“It's a valid concern to worry about the safety of our officers, and no one is advocating for law enforcement to be left defenseless. The term "demilitarization" doesn't mean disarming the police; rather, it refers to the idea of shifting away from military-grade equipment and tactics. The intention is to foster a stronger relationship between the police and the community, reducing the "us versus them" mentality which can escalate tensions.”

I completely agree with your approach to de-escalation of confrontations. I think that in most parts of the country, there is little to no militarization in police departments. From where I am, I am a member of a public safety department and have seen the capabilities of our police department. Our department has only Sig Sauer P320 handguns as personal service weapons, Remington 870 shotguns, and M4 platform rifles inside the squad vehicles. Other than that, the only remaining means of weaponry is a baton and pepper spray. What I am trying to get at is that local departments such as mine do…  Read more

 @9FFJJL3 from Texas  disagreed…3yrs3Y

Taking guns away from legal, responsible gun-owners' hands and removing tactical and lethal equipment use by law enforcement will not reduce crime or gun-related deaths. The people who commit a majority of gun crimes will still have the guns they have access to and the police would be less equipped to deal with such matters. As someone who lives in a rural area near Chicago, and as a legal gun owner with a CCL, I carry everywhere I go, and with 0 intention of ever even drawing my weapon. I don't carry it to commit crimes or commit mass shootings. I go to the range about every other…  Read more

 @9F85M6R from Nevada  disagreed…3yrs3Y

If we were to take weapons away from the police, we are essentially giving criminals access to better weapons than police are able to use. I prefer that those who have sworn to protect us have access to deadlier weapons than those who try to kill us.

 @9F72GC3Republican from Kansas  disagreed…3yrs3Y

If we want to stop drunk drivers from killing sober drivers, lets ban driving sober. That is what you mean when talking about gun buybacks and defunding police.

 @9FG74ZVConstitution from Texas  disagreed…3yrs3Y

Getting rid of the police doesn't help like if you paid attention to the portland protests when they did defund the police the crime rose an incredible amount.

 @9FBXPCZ from Hawaii  disagreed…3yrs3Y

If the people are disarmed, and the police are disarmed, the only ones with guns will be the criminals. This is how you get cartel rule like in Mexico.

 @9F9J8T3 from South Carolina  disagreed…3yrs3Y

no, and militarization of police departments protects us as people,. if more people would do what they were supposed to do and not break the law then there would be less "police discrimination".

 @BBM5VXY from Texas  disagreed…4mos4MO

The foundation of this country relies upon the notion of the citizen being armed and trained to the best of their ability for the primary purpose of confronting and even defeating a capable military foe be it domestic or foreign. Essential to this notion is the availability to the citizen of the most technologically advanced arms they can manage under well and self-regulated training, knowledge, care, and use of such arms. Police seeking militarized means is beyond the bounds of the citizen militia and may constitute a standing army, of which was considered among the founding father's…  Read more

 @9FBTVHQ from California  disagreed…3yrs3Y

I think that federal police departments should be giving officers more training on gun safety and how to fire a firearm so lett ammo should be used and death wouldn't always be an outcome.

 @9F9CZZGProgressive from New Hampshire  disagreed…3yrs3Y

The police should not have the same level of force as the military due to incidents of police brutality.

 @9F5RX2TRepublicandisagreed…3yrs3Y

First off, we need local police to have guns, what are the officers gonna do if they don't have guns? Beg the offender to stop whatever violent crime they are committing? Also guns are protected by the 2nd amendment, to prevent the government from becoming tyrannical, also more people die from being stabbed than "assault rifles." Everyone has a right to own a gun for self defence.

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 @ISIDEWITH submitted…2yrs2Y

Elizabeth Warren Walks Back Murder Comments

Congressional Democrats broadly denounced the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson Friday morning, after Republicans started accusing Sen. Elizabeth Warren of excusing violence.“No one's condoning this,” said Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.). “Violence never is the right answer for anything. And it was a horrible murder, a tragic loss for his family.” Warren this week condemned the shooting, but added that people “can be pushed only so far.”"We'll say it over and over," Warren said on MSNBC’S “The ReidOut.” " Violence is never the answer. This guy [Luigi Mangione] gets a trial who's allegedly killed the CEO of UnitedHealth, but you can only push people so far, and then they start to take matters into their own hands."In a statement to POLITICO, Warren said, “Violence is never the answer. Period. I should have been much clearer that there is never a justification for murder.” Top Republicans denounced Warren's comments and the walked-back rhetoric, with House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) calling it “inappropriate and dangerous.”Some House Democrats asked about the incident on Thursday pivoted the conversation to discuss policy options on health care or gun safety.“I don't really know that this is really a space that Congress normally weighs in on,” said Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas). “But at the end of the day, I think it’s an opportunity, because now people are talking about health care and to talk about the fact that this industry has honestly not been as helpful as it could be.”“Violence is never the answer,” said Rep. Troy Carter (D-La.). “We know that there are people suffering, there’s great challenges in healthcare. There's great challenges, and people have, in fact, been wronged, but a process of governance is the way to address that, not violence.”And Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) who denounced the murder, said the killer should be prosecuted and that “I do know that allegedly a ghost gun was used, and we should also ban ghost guns. There's no reason for them beyond the streets.”

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 @ISIDEWITH submitted…2yrs2Y

Israeli Bombings Kill 2,300 In Lebanon in 3 weeks

Lebanese authorities say Israeli bombing has killed more than 2,300 people and injured almost 11,000, mostly in the past three weeks, with Israeli attacks reaching areas far beyond Hizbollah’s traditional bastions of support in the south.The Israeli military has ordered people living in more than a quarter of Lebanon to flee, according to a UN calculation, as its fight with the Iran-backed Shia militant group Hizbollah threatens to engulf the Mediterranean country.Lebanese authorities say Israeli bombing has killed more than 2,300 people and injured almost 11,000, mostly in the past three weeks, with Israeli attacks reaching areas far beyond Hizbollah’s traditional bastions of support in the south.More than 1mn people have fled their homes in Lebanon in under a month, according to its government, a dramatic forced movement of the population in a country of only about 5mn inhabitants with a land mass smaller than the US state of Connecticut. Israeli forces began a ground offensive in south Lebanon two weeks ago, in their fourth invasion of the country in under five decades. They had already destroyed large parts of the densely populated southern Beirut suburb where Hizbollah had its headquarters, and killed many top militant commanders in air strikes, including former leader Hassan Nasrallah.Rema Jamous Imseis, Middle East director of UNHCR, told journalists in Geneva that “over 25 per cent of [Lebanon is] under a direct Israeli military evacuation order”. “People are heeding these calls to evacuate and they’re fleeing with almost nothing,” she added, saying that 80 per cent of the shelters opened by the Lebanese government — mostly in schools — were now full.

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