Gun Violence Debate Needs to Include Police Militarization and Drug Prohibition Violence

“Any meaningful approach must address the war on drugs, its role in militarizing the police and the effect it has had on communities of color.” On March 14, thousands of students walked out of school to protest gun violence, demanding legislators enact more stringent gun control in the U.S. Later that night in Rio de Janeiro, Marielle Franco , a Brazilian city council member and a vocal critic of Brazil’s militarized law enforcement, was assassinated. Four days later, 22-year-old Stephon Clark was shot and killed by the Sacramento police. While news outlets and social media made note of these murders, the national conversation instead largely focused on the March for Our Lives protest that took place the following weekend. As the media continued to cover the responses to the March for Our Lives, news broke that the two officers responsible for the murder of Alton Sterling would not be […]

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