Within hours of the tragic shooting in San Bernardino Wednesday, the political class was already clamoring to use the incident to push policies from gun control, to increased surveillance, to more militarized cops. While none of these proposals will prevent the next tragedy, they could have profound ramifications on our day-to-day lives. Fear has a…
CONCORD, N.H. (Nov. 23, 2015) – A New Hampshire legislative study committee continues to consider a proposal that would drastically limit the impact of federal programs militarizing local police. During the 2015 legislative session, Rep. J.R. Hoell introduced HB407. It would have prohibited state and local police departments from acquiring military vehicles or equipment not…
BURLINGTON, Vt. – The Burlington police department unilaterally decided to sever ties with a U.S. Department of Defense program that allows law enforcement agencies to procure surplus military equipment, freeing the department from one significant form of federal influence and control. A Burlington TV station reported on the move, saying the department had obtained two…
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Oct. 9, 2015) – On Wednesday, California Governor Jerry Brown vetoed a bill that would have stopped transfers of some battlefield-ready military equipment to state or local law enforcement agencies. His reasoning was a load of crap. Introduced by Asm. Nora Campos (D-San Jose), Assembly Bill 36 (AB36) would have unconditionally banned law enforcement…
HELENA, Mont. (Oct. 1, 2015) – Today, a law that will heavily diminish the impact of federal programs militarizing local police in Montana went into effect. Introduced by Rep. Nicholas Schwaderer (R-Superior), House Bill 330 (HB330) bans state or local law enforcement from receiving significant classes of military equipment from the Pentagon’s “1033 Program.” It…
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Sept. 11, 2015) – A California bill that would stop transfers of some battlefield-ready military equipment to state or local law enforcement agencies was given final approval in the state legislature yesterday and now heads to the governor’s desk. Introduced by Asm. Nora Campos (D-San Jose), Assembly Bill 36 (AB36) would unconditionally ban law…
“Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.”—Martin Luther King Jr. There’s an ill will blowing across the country. The economy is tanking. The people are directionless, and politics provides no answer. And like former regimes, the militarized police have stepped up to provide a façade of law…
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (July 20, 2015) – A California bill that would create a mechanism to stop transfers of military equipment to state or local law enforcement agencies cleared its final committee hurdle last and will now move on to the Senate floor when it returns from a summer recess in August. Introduced by Asm. Nora Campos…
Whenever a bill to allow industrial hemp farming – note, this is different than marijuana legalization – comes up in a state legislature, the leading opponents are generally law enforcement groups. These police lobbies almost always base their opposition on flawed logic and outright falsehood. A recent conflict between marijuana growers and hemp farmers in…
As the number of troop-heavy foreign interventions decreases, the warcraft and weaponry used in battle are now being deployed in neighborhoods as members and machines of law enforcement become increasingly indistinguishable from those of the military. This is the situation as revealed in a new report published by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) entitled…