That does not mean that idiot proposals are the way to go. However, a motivation to prevent inappropriate shootings is not an evil motivation. Rantings about liberals and race are not productive.
This is currently a major issue being hotly debated and discussed here in Oregon in the city of Portland, one of the most liberal major cities in the entire USA. The city has a significant problem with gang related crime, and the vast majority of the gangs are either black or latino. The police department has come under tremendous fire this year because 3 young black men who all had issues with mental health have been killed by the department so far this year.
All internal investigations and grand juries so far have not found any wrong doing by any of the officers. In the latest incident, the dead man actually shot a police officer twice with a handgun, before other officers themselves fired back and killed him in a clear act of self defense. Yet he, like the other two, are all being treated as martyrs murdered by the police.
A crisis has been declared by many in Portland over the matter. The Reverend Jessee Jackson even came to the city in February to decry what he labeled racism by the police force. The mayor even fired the police chief a couple of months ago over the controversy, when the death toll only stood at 2.
So like it or not, race is indeed playing a very significant role in generating controversy over police shootings. And it seems that some liberal political figures, like the Reverend Jackson, for example, are all too eager to exploit this.
Is this not a valid point to make? Is this not part of the equation of the controversy surrounding police shootings in our society these days? It sure is playing a major role here in Oregon currently. It has been headline news here for months, and is an on-going hot subject for the talk radio stations and online forums here.
In this latest police killing, which was done by the department's anti-gang task force, the police have now explained that the suspect matched a gangster appearance profile, because of the way he was dressed with a hoodie, something somewhat odd to be wearing on a hot evening. When they then saw him break some minor traffic laws, they then decided to pull him over.
It has been determined that the 9mm Taurus Millennium handgun that the suspect used to shoot officer Christopher Burley was locally purchased, but had been stolen in a burglary in 2006.
Believe it or not, the mayor of Portland is now blaming lax gun laws in the state of Oregon for the incident ever taking place. He is blaming the easy availability of the Taurus pistol for the tragedy happening. See this latest news report for full details:
http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2010/02/portland_police_release_report.html
Many liberals seem to think that more gun control and more restrictions on the police are the solutions for problems in our society. But I honestly don't see how either is ever going to do anything at all to reduce crime.
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