In the wake of police shootings and protests against police violence, the growing sentiment that law enforcement needs to be reformed is growing. Last month in Fresno, California, an officer was fired for a supporting the Proud Boys during a protest. A video surfaced of the officer which is what led to his dismissal from duty.
It's actions like these that proposed legislation would take should an officer be found to have extremists views or ties. States like California and Minnesota have proposed legislation that would call for more robust background checks that would include social media searches, and while in California an officer was removed from duty for showing support for the Proud Boys, some are saying that these rigorous background checks infringe upon a person's constitutional rights, especially the right to freedom of speech and religion.
Brian Marvel, president of the Peace Officers Research Association of California, said in a statement that the organization supported the idea but not the legislation that was drafted. It would “infringe on a person’s individual rights,” he said, and possibly prevent someone from becoming an officer based on personal beliefs, religion or other interests.
My Two Cents
Personally, I don't think anything they have proposed thus far would infringe upon anyone's constitutional rights. When people apply for a job working with our government and associated agencies, they are subject to background checks with the highest being a top secret security clearance. Some jobs require a credit history as well as drug testing, and all of this is based on the job and the level of transparency needed to be in those positions.
Could you imagine if the CIA or FBI didn't conduct their rigorous background checks? What about the IRS? These are people who take on jobs that are supposed to protect, serve, and uphold order in our society and I don't think anyone that sits at home on Friday night tweeting about how all immigrants need to be eliminated needs to be working for Homeland Security or ICE because obviously they have a personal bias which could could affect their judgement on the job. Same goes with police officers. We don't need someone who posts things on social media that aren't reflective of an attitude that serves a diverse community.
I don't think it's an infringement upon anyone's freedom because we need to ensure that the people who are protecting us and our freedom really carry that mentality 24/7 and not just when they are on the job because we're all human beings and it's easy to say that you don't take your biases into a job or situation but as we've seen with white police officers and black criminals, they're not exactly hiding those biases when more black criminals are shot on sight than white criminals.
Comments
Post a Comment