In response to immigration raids by masked federal officers in Los Angeles and across the nation, two California lawmakers on Monday proposed a new state law to ban members of law enforcement from concealing their faces while on the job.
The bill would make it a misdemeanor for local, state and federal law enforcement officers to cover their faces with some exceptions, and also encourage them to wear a form of identification on their uniform.
“We’re really at risk of having, effectively, secret police in this country,” said state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), co-author of the bill.
In theory, anyone could forge a badge, claim to be ice, and literally kidnap people into sex trafficking or slavery and we wouldnt find out for quite a long time. That’s in addition to the already dangerous prospect of having unidentifiable police who are unaccountable.
There should be passed ASAP. Should become a national law too but not gonna happen with this government. We need to pass this on a local and state level as much as possible.
Isn’t this already happening?
mmmm People whom are know to hang out on an island full of under age sex trafficed girls, are now in power of the government. Oh of course it is happening, But its no longer limited to the island, and its government approved.
You should not be under any obligation to assume or respect any proposed authority by a person unwilling to show you their face.
This sentence should not need to be spoken.
You should not be under any obligation to assume or respect any proposed authority by a person unwilling to show you their face.
Explaining this to the guy with a badge and a mask shoving a gun in my face.
He’s screaming and cocking the weapon, while a few of his friends approach me with tasers and clubs, but I’m just going to stand here waving a copy of John Locke’s Social Contract while explaining that I am a Free Man On The Land and do not make joinder.
Conversely, I should not be required to show my face to anyone if I’m not trying to assert authority over them. Being a public servant means having a public identity, being a private citizen means you have the freedom to make choices about what you share.
Good. Let the cowards face their victims
Encourage them to wear identification? ENCOURAGE them?!? How that is not and has not always been mandatory is beyond me.
It’s a state legislature attempting to regulate a federal agency. Even if it manages to make it to the Governor’s desk, you know Newsom will veto it, because he’s a cowardly little toad man who has never found a boat he was above licking. And if, by some miracle it survives the legislature and Newsom discovers his spine, the federal courts will bat this away overnight.
All that is assuming Silicon Valley doesn’t have enough votes in the state house to smoother this proposal in committee.
Why even worry about the language of a DOA bill? You’re not stopping ICE from Sacramento. Not with the current crop of liberal dorks and techbro shills running things.
The mask part does not say encourage so I don’t see why the id part would be different.
Id would be trivial to fake. So either way it wouldn’t solve much without a hefty penalty for using a fake one.
Wearing masks isn’t the issue, it’s the lack of warrants and identification.
Yep. There’s a non-zero chance that maga civilians are dressing tactical and kidnapping people they believe shouldn’t be here. I hope not, but there’s really no way to know either way at this point.
I think it should be assumed, just because.
If this law is enacted, the Supreme Court will say that states can’t frustrate the operations of federal agents with these sorts of laws. Chief Justice Roberts will write the opinion and compare it to giving states the power to ban bulletproof vests from being worn by federal law enforcement and call it “a step from anarchy”. Clarence Thomas will then write a concurring opinion saying that federal agents acting on orders from the president should actually be immune for any type of civil or criminal liability for any of their actions, lawful or not.
Then, when a Democratic president takes office the court will walk it back and say “well, actually, there’s this exception, and this exception, and that exception…”
Then, when a Democratic president takes office the court will walk it back and say “well, actually, there’s this exception, and this exception, and that exception…”
Or they won’t, because the Dem president will simply “not abuse such powers” due to their “adherence to decorum”.
The SC made the president god-king while Biden was in office.
Stop listening to the supreme court.
This might come as a shock to most people, but literally nothing the supreme court says is legally-binding.
Stop hogging the time machine, give someone else a chance to document inevitable future
“Oh? You want to “detain” my student/employee/friend/partner? You have to prove you’re a law enforcement official and are legally-allowed to.”
If that sounds unreasonable to anyone… you’re the extremist.
It’s totally reasonable, but it’ll probably also get you deported to El Salvador. Or at the very least beat.
This should also include identification on vehicles.
None of this unmarked pickup truck or white van bullshit.
This includes the “ghost letter” bullshit. They claim it’s so they can blend in and catch violations as they happen. Bro everyone can see a cop driving from a mile away by the way they drive, the reinforced grill, the slightly beefier trim to hide the installed lights, etc.
Oh you mean pre-crime, we absolutely need to violate your rights to prevent pre-crime.
How would they enforce this, if they can’t identify the people violating it?
They would not. You would.
How can they prosecute someone who fights back when the person they fought was wearing a mask? It would be self defence.
wrong comment
Rifles in hand, ideally
Stop anyone with a mask attempting to do ICE stuff.
Who will do the stopping?
Unarmed citizens, apparently, have the guts. Do law enforcement?
I get it for that balaclava stuff, which doesn’t have a lot of functional use unless it’s very cold.
But cops are gonna sometimes need to wear a gas mask, and that’s gonna obscure features.
Cold does not apply. This is california. Park rangers might sometimes need to go places where you need more than a light jacket, but no other cop ever will.
A cop does not ever need a gas mask.
They can simply choose to not deploy gas.
They’re not running into fucking burning buildings. Nobody else uses gas munitions. Gas is a terror weapon.
Fuck em. Tear gas is on outlawed war weapon. They should have been jailed for it’s use.
I don’t care what reason a cop has anymore. They are liars all of them trained and required to be. That right there takes a certain lack of care for fellow humans
So cops and law enforcement as they are currently practiced are as big a threat as trump.
Until they turn on trump, they are complicit
Whoopsie daisy, looks like we all need to wear gas masks today boys! Our buddy in forensics says there’s totally a legitimate risk today, so the gas masks gotta come out
Maybe they shouldn’t be committing war crimes on civilians.
That’s one of the main “exceptions” mentioned in the article:
Under the proposal, law enforcement officials would be exempted from the mask ban if they serve on a SWAT team or if a mask is necessary for medical or health reasons, including to prevent smoke inhalation.
But I can see the claim of “health reasons” being abused.
if a mask is necessary
I’m not sure if this will be the case, but does that cover the case where they’re the reason? Because that’s one way to ensure escalation to “tear gas on hand, everywhere, at all times.”
They will absolutely claim they need it for protection from Covid. And it all of a sudden won’t hinder their breathing at all.
Then they should only be allowed to wear a full gasmask or a standard medical mask in those engagements.
None of this balaclava shit.
Make them uncomfortable or hypocrates.
Oh, and regardless of when they are wearing a mask or not, they need to have their ID number printed clearly visible on their helmets, their vests (back and front), and their pants.
Which would be obnoxiously ironic, considering how police unions fought tooth and nail against mask mandates during the pandemic. Fucking idiots.
Smoke inhalation too, because of smoke grenades and flashbangs
Ya
flashbang
I hate breathing crib fumes
And theres the problem of frequent blood spatter. College kids and old people bleed a lot.
Is there a reason why SWAT gets a general exception?
It’s likely phrased in the law as closer to while serving on a swat team, as in they’re actively wearing a ballistic face shield and gas mask for legitimate reasons.
It’s a prime opportunity for things to get lost in translation between the law, the person talking to the press, and the report.
Tactical breaching equipment has head and facial protection on just about everything.
there are exceptions and there is “encouragement” to wear identification. this will do nothing.
Has anyone even said “thank you” to democratic leaders? pretending to do something while accomplishing nothing meaningful at all takes a lot of work and skill.
I’m not sure how this is related to the TLC
The exceptions are actually logical not broad. The only questionable exception that seems open to abuse is “health reasons”.
But the ones we need to be worried about can’t read anyway.
The only questionable exception that seems open to abuse is “health reasons”.
Brought to you by the “I can’t breathe in a mask, COVID isn’t real” crowd
This has to pass. And other states need to follow suit. It’s ridiculous any law enforcement can hide who they are unless they’re undercover.
The thin blue line is how much responsibility they’re willing to accept. And it’s a very very thin line right now.
Has an undercover cop ever really benefited the people?
I’d love to be corrected on this, but when it comes to cops, I’ma doubt that real fucking fast.
Well, germany was pretty fond of one if their undercover cops for a few years.
It went badly though.
Doesn’t matter if it passes. The president doesn’t abide by the law, so they don’t need to either.
Plus, who is going to enforce it, cops? Lol
Good… personal freedom and all that
