Policing the Police Act of 2014 (Redraft passed)

[Lief 🗽]

I don't know that having police chiefs and commissioners elected is a good idea. It's just as likely to cause problems as it is to solve them. Otherwise, I think this is a very good bill.

[Lief 🗽]

I offer an amendment to remove Section 4.1 and 4.2 of this bill.

[Lief 🗽]

Aye

If this amendment passes, I don't really have that many strong objections to the rest of this bill and would be willing to support it. I would hope that Senators are willing to put aside any partisan disagreements to pass this important legislation, so that we can put a check on the increasingly violent, discriminatory and out of control police culture in our country. The relations between the police and the communities they are meant to serve are reminiscent of apartheid South Africa in parts of our country, and this sort of legislation is desperately needed.

[Lief 🗽]

NAY

Police unions are terrible and should be abolished.

[Lief 🗽]

I cannot support Senator Cris's amendment. It would completely neuter this bill.

[Lief 🗽]

NAY

Some of these changes are okay, but a lot of them are really bad. There is no point in establishing police oversight councils if we thoroughly neuter them like this amendment would. The changes to section 3 especially are incredibly egregious; what is the point of civilian oversight if a majority of police officers can just vote to ignore it? What is the point of civilian oversight if those civilians are close relatives of police officers?

Getting rid of the entrapment provision doesn't make any sense to me either. Why are we condoning police departments engaging in entrapment?

[Lief 🗽]

I object as well. The only remaining language in the bill that I would support removing is 4.3: while the idea behind it is an important one, in practice I think it would be unworkable unfortunately.

[Lief 🗽]

NAY

[Lief 🗽]

The purpose of unions is to protect and empower workers. Police unions are reactionary organizations that exist to protect and empower enemies of workers. Unions are not an end, in and of themselves, but a means towards worker empowerment. If they are being used to protect the harassers of workers, then I don't see much point in them.

[Lief 🗽]

I would rather pass nothing at all than pass this current version implicitly endorsing entrapment.

[Lief 🗽]

Aye

[Lief 🗽]

I object to the amendment. Why are we removing the oversight councils??

[Lief 🗽]

NAY

I'm okay with the change to 4.1, but removing the oversight councils entirely makes this legislation mostly pointless.

[Lief 🗽]

Alright, that's good. I'm glad that we're not taking some sort of oversight mechanism completely off the table.

[Lief 🗽]

Nay

I continue to be disturbed by what some of my dear colleagues think the police should be able to get away with.

[Lief 🗽]

Nazis are free to hold their rallies or meetings or whatever. But the government has a legitimate interest in making sure that its police officers are not ideological extremists who believe that certain classes of people are inherently inferior.

[Lief 🗽]

This thing really is getting to a very risky place.

So, no one is going to address my concerns as whether or not this body has the right to be as prescriptive as this Bill is?

If local police departments don't want to follow these very reasonable rules, they are free to reject federal funding entirely.

[Lief 🗽]

This preserves the rights of the people in many ways, so it does not run afoul of Art. 1, Sec. 6, Clause 7.

[Lief 🗽]

The Senate should concern itself with passing the best legislation it can. If someone wants to challenge it after it becomes law, I have full confidence in our justice department to defend it.

[Lief 🗽]

I object. I would support something like this amended in addition to the currently existing bill, but not this wholesale rewriting.

[Lief 🗽]

Can we please keep this slippery slope fallacy nonsense out of the senate chamber? If you want to grandstand against an imaginary strawman bill that bans left handed police officers, feel free to introduce a bill doing that so you can vote against it.

[Lief 🗽]

NAY

[Lief 🗽]

I object.

[Lief 🗽]

Nay

[Lief 🗽]

I will support this amendment. I'd like to commend Comrade Blair for drafting it, and I think it is very close to being something that I could support. It's certainly a huge improvement over what this bill has presently become.