We must oppose the far left’s dangerous efforts to defund police departments
It’s no secret that America has experienced significant hardships over the last few months.
First, a global pandemic hit, and while Americans were worried about their health and the health of loved ones, their livelihoods were hit hard. Businesses closed, employees were laid off, revenue was lost and people wondered how they were going to pay their bills.
Then — while we were still reeling from the COVID-19 effects —George Floyd was murdered.
Across the country Americans watched a viral video of Floyd’s last moments, and it saddened, angered and motivated many. Americans confidently exercised their First Amendment right to speak their minds and assemble during protests in all 50 states, and some truly outstanding voices emerged with thoughts on how to bridge gaps and heal as a nation.
But then many protests turned to riots, some even here in South Carolina.
Looters vandalized and burglarized businesses.
Rioters burned police cars and set fire to buildings.
We saw evidence of organized outside groups like Antifa hijacking peaceful protests to create chaos and push a wide variety of troubling agendas.
And in the midst of the chaos, we heard maddening cries from the far left to defund the police.
A dangerous step
Just think about that.
There are some who actually believe peace and order can somehow exist if we reduce or eliminate the only people in our society who are sworn to protect that peace and order: our law enforcement officers.
In Minneapolis, the City Council recently voted to dismantle its police department.
In New York City and Los Angeles, city leaders are promising deep cuts to their law enforcement budgets.
And in more than a dozen major cities across the nation, local officials are hopping on the bandwagon to defund their police departments.
The one thing most of these cities have in common is the far-left political leanings of their local elected leaders.
While I fully support legitimate endeavors to improve training and to better equip law enforcement to handle the incredibly difficult challenges they face, defunding the police is a dangerous call to action that will only make our communities more dangerous.
If this starts to happen here in South Carolina, we’re in serious trouble.
In Congress, I will always stand behind our law enforcement agencies and those officers who serve their communities honorably. There must be mutual, two-way trust, respect and accountability between police and those they serve.
Anything less is completely unacceptable, and everything we can do to help strengthen those relationships is a good thing.
The focus of reform should be on how we can improve that bond — and not on how we can dismantle it.
U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman of Rock Hill represents South Carolina’s 5th Congressional District.
This story was originally published July 2, 2020 at 7:19 AM.