Categories
Uncategorized

Senate votes to allow police to buy surplus military equipment with minor restrictions

The Senate Tuesday voted to allow federal, state, tribal and local law enforcement departments to continue to be allowed to purchase surplus military equipment and weapons, putting few regulations in place restricting such transactions, Roll Call reports.

Two competing amendments made it to the floor for votes, with the Senate choosing to pass the one that only required training and education programs in place, without restricting the types of materiel available to police departments.

The issue of the militarization of the police has been in the public eye recently as police–wearing paramilitary garb and in some cities, using military-style vehicles–used force to break up demonstrations about police violence and its excess use of force.

The approved amendment, passed with a 90-10 vote, requires departments and agencies receiving the excess military gear to train their officers to “respect for the rights of citizens under the Constitution of the United States and de-escalation of force.”

Sponsored by Oklahoma republican James Inhofe, the bill also bans the sale of bayonets, grenades other than stun and flash-bang grenades, weaponized tracked combat vehicles and weaponized drones to outside groups.

The other bill, sponsored by Hawaii Democrat Brian Schatz, won a majority of Senate votes in a 51-49, but did not hit the minimum 60 votes needed for passage.

Schatz’s bill incorporated all the facets of Inhofe’s bill, but also banned the sale of tear gas, grenade launchers, firearms of .50 caliber or higher and ammunition of .50 caliber or higher.

Schatz’s bill also would have barred a department which was found to have violated civilians’ First Amendment rights from buying surplus equipment for five years.

The Inhofe amendment will become part of the defense authorization bill once reconciled with the House version in conference committee.  The bill, vital to the ongoing operation of the US military, faces a potential veto from President Trump if it contains a provision to rename military assets, like bases, that bear the names of Confederate leaders.

Created by potrace 1.16, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2019

German leaders to shut AfD access to national defense document

29 minutes ago

Utah Senator John Curtis calls for probe of Don Jr’s wedding

1 hour ago

Terrible person really depressed and worried

5 hours ago

Fannie Man tried his “mortgage fraud” scam on Todd Blanche: WSJ

9 hours ago

Orange Pharaoh hits all-time Reuters/Ipsos poll low at 32 percent

10 hours ago

Turns out the White House kind of needs a press pool for audio

16 hours ago

Fat Drama Queen calls media a national security threat

21 hours ago

CNN booted from White House press pool

1 day ago

MAGA Land’s love of religious freedom contingent on the religion

2 days ago

Lots of shit gets blown up in Moscow

2 days ago

Tom Emmer comforted by meme he saw online

2 days ago

High school dropout accused of effing multiple congressional aides

3 days ago

President declares public antipathy to AI a hoax

3 days ago

“Not too long ago, Republicans were salivating…”

3 days ago

Tired: “Socialism” / Wired: “Communism”

3 days ago

WATCH LIVE: Angry grandpa takes afternoon nap on camera

4 days ago

Orange Fuhrer bans CNN, MS Now, and Politico from White House

4 days ago

K$H ordered FBI to stop cooperating with RCMP over CBC policy

4 days ago

If nobody’s watching then why complain?

4 days ago

Desperation for wins taken to previously unfathomed levels

4 days ago

Team Orange to build data centers on 17,600 acres of federal land

4 days ago

Regime shifting drone fleet to South America for expected ops

4 days ago

Susan Collins PAC canvasser caught porch pirating

5 days ago

New campaign ad BLASTS Trump immigration policy!

5 days ago

“The damaged MAGA brand will not appear in the disclaimers”

5 days ago

House finally passes Ratepayer Protection Act

5 days ago

WATCH LIVE: Maybe he dies in front of his racist, miserable fans

5 days ago

Remember when Trump kept losing his shit at Jerome Powell?

6 days ago

Mike Johnson calls it a wrap until mid-November

6 days ago

Quarter of Ohioans think Sherrod Brown still a senator: BGSU poll

6 days ago

Fox News reports Kirk still defunding woke universities

6 days ago

Marquette poll puts Dems up 13 percent on generic ballot

6 days ago

Fat baby conditions Kennedy Center’s existence on favorable ruling

7 days ago

WATCH LIVE: Todd auditions for White House press secretary role

7 days ago

Massie intros Hegseth impeachment articles

7 days ago

Dems 51 – GOP 43 on generic ballot: NYT/Siena poll

7 days ago

“‘The overall numbers beat the NFL,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social the next morning, long before any such numbers were available”

7 days ago

K$H in the hot seat: Live video

7 days ago

Ken Paxton lunged for US tourist’s phone after caught in London

1 week ago

Supreme Court tosses Trump mail-voting crackdown petition

1 week ago

Any man who must call himself a hoaxbuster is no hoaxbuster

1 week ago

DHS broke state laws in moronic voter fraud hunt: whistleblower

1 week ago

WATCH LIVE-ish: Jaydee already getting heckled in Kansas

1 week ago

Those unconcerned with threats from AI may want to reconsider

1 week ago

DiGenova quit after Blanche sent DOJ officials to “assist”: CNN

1 week ago

Houthis seize more Red Sea islands

1 week ago

President warns full-blown economic depression imminent

1 week ago

Los Angeles County neighborhoods hit with microquake swarm

1 week ago

Saudis shut down crucial pipeline amid Houthi/Iranian threat

1 week ago

Two Twenty-Six

1 week ago

x
x
x
x
x
x