Breaking: California Police Risks Serious Firearm Restriction

Advisor April 10, 2018

In California, for the first time, the government is looking at enacting a law that will restrict the use of arms for the police department. This is a step taken just after the law enforcement officers took the life of an unarmed African-american man in Sacramento.

Protesters say the police should only be able to open fire on people as a last resort and nothing more.

On Monday, last month, some state lawmakers felt the need to do something about the recent development. A bill to raise the standard for an officer to open fire was filed. It is the first of its kind and has been made necessary based on the recent developments and the call of its citizens for justice.

Supporting the message of the people of California, the legislation intends to change the rules that govern the use of force by the police to ensure that they can only open fire as the last alternative, and not as the “reasonable” option.

Who Engineered the Bill

The Assemblyman responsible for the move for the arm restriction is Kevin McCarty (D) and was partnered up by Assemblywoman, Shirley Weber; both authors of this new law are Democrats. The bill has since gotten the support of the (ACLU), American Union of Civil Liberties. On Tuesday, during the press release, some members of the legislative body were present. Black Caucus was one of them.

The press conference was an event that brought together, before the public, supporters of the new police restriction bill and the leaders of Sacramento. Groups like the Black Lives Matter movement and the NAACP.

Other personality worth mentioning was the grandfather of Stephen Clark; the 22-year-old man who got fatally injured by the California police in an open fire.

Assemblyman Kevin McCarty and Assemblywoman Shurley Weber are Democrats who share the same opinion on bringing a stop to the shoot first ask question later.

What was Discussed in the Press Release

During the press release, Assemblyman Christopher Holden was asked to express his reason for supporting the new law. He stated that the era when the police was allowed to shoot humans first and ask later, should be over. According to him, it was time for the police to no longer get the chance to use people as their target practice.

The lawmaker went further to buttress his point. He cited several occasions in the past where black men were gunned down in the same manner, and nothing serious was done to curb the ugly situation.

The results of studies carried out to evaluate the series of ugly incidents revealed that the rate of black men getting shot-down in an open fire by the police was far greater than the rate of white men being shot-down. For this reason, supporters of the bill hope to see policemen and women focusing on de-escalation rather than lethal force once the law gets passed.

McCarty disclosed that the resort to open fire by the police officers stemmed from the 100-year-old law that justifies the use of deadly force by the Police.

What motivated the creation of the new arms law

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After the death of Stephen, the lawmaker, McCarty hasn’t had a rest of mind. Series of protests have been ongoing in his district by citizens who strongly disapprove the actions of the police. This protests kept increasing in size and number as more evidence regarding the shooting of the 22-year-old kept unfolding.

It was gathered, based on the autopsy report, that Stephen Clark, got shot a minimum of seven bullets to the back while at the backyard of his own residence. This evidence steered a further outcry among the masses of California.

And on Friday, a rising number of 300 people gathered in the streets of Sacramento, to decry the actions of the law enforcement officers. They expressed that it was high-time this crime against the blacks and humanity at large was brought to an end.

What supporters had to say about the police current standard

As gathered, the legislative advocate for the American Union for Civil Liberties, Lizzie Buchen, expressed that the current laws favored only the security officers. According to her, recent events have made it clear that the law has forgotten to protect its people. It is now protecting the police at the expense of the masses. This she disclosed during the press released on Tuesday.

Shirley Weber, the co-author of the Police Arm Restriction bill, expressed her confidence on the effectiveness of the law if passed. According to her, the state of California will be the pacesetter toward addressing these avoidable killings. Her closing statement was “if the state of California cannot do it, then who can?”