Full Text of SR1716 100th General Assembly
SR1716 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, For the greater part of 20 years, the
United | 3 | | States Government has used the 1996 National
Defense | 4 | | Authorization Act to allow the Defense
Secretary to give local | 5 | | law enforcement agencies the
Defense Department's excess | 6 | | military equipment at no
cost to the agency; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, New and used material, including Mine-Resistant
| 8 | | Ambush Protected vehicles and weapons
determined by the | 9 | | Department of Defense to be "military
grade" are transferred to | 10 | | local law enforcement; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, The increased militarization of police
throughout | 12 | | the United States has contributed to
continuing abuses of | 13 | | police powers, which pose a
serious threat to the | 14 | | constitutional rights of the
American People, including | 15 | | residents of Illinois; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, Militarized policing has deepened the divide
| 17 | | between communities and police, reducing public trust
in law | 18 | | enforcement officers; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, The federal government and the State of
Illinois | 20 | | have thus far failed to adequately provide
reasonable | 21 | | long-lasting restrictions and oversight on
the use of military |
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| 1 | | grade weapons by police; and | 2 | | WHEREAS, In 2015, then-President Barack H. Obama took
steps | 3 | | to demilitarize local police by banning tracked
armored | 4 | | vehicles, bayonets, grenade launchers,
camouflage uniforms, | 5 | | and large-caliber weapons and
ammunition; and | 6 | | WHEREAS, In 2017, President Donald J. Trump rolled back
the | 7 | | Obama-era demilitarization policies, thereby
allowing military | 8 | | equipment, typically used for
warfare, to once again be | 9 | | distributed to local police
agencies; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, The right for the governor of a state to
declare | 11 | | martial law has been seen as a given power in
his or her | 12 | | position during extreme circumstances; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, The existence of war between a state and a
limited | 14 | | number of its citizens in a small geographical
area, stemming | 15 | | from a rebellious act against the
government, does not invoke | 16 | | the necessity of martial
law in that territory; therefore, be | 17 | | it
| 18 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL | 19 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we strongly oppose the | 20 | | partisan impulses and the
lack of adequate solutions | 21 | | surrounding the
demilitarization of police agencies; and be it |
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| 1 | | further | 2 | | RESOLVED, That we do
not believe the use of military grade | 3 | | weapons and gear
by police, in either urban or rural settings, | 4 | | provides
safety to the residents of those communities; and be | 5 | | it further | 6 | | RESOLVED, That we urge
the United States Congress to | 7 | | drastically reduce, if not
eliminate, the amount of military | 8 | | equipment provided to
local law enforcement agencies; and be it | 9 | | further | 10 | | RESOLVED, That suspending ordinary
law, more specifically | 11 | | as it pertains to searches and
seizures, and replacing it with | 12 | | martial law holds no
place in the State of Illinois, unless | 13 | | properly called
for by the executive branch of the United | 14 | | States
Government or the executive branch of the Illinois
State | 15 | | Government; and be it further
| 16 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies
of this resolution be | 17 | | delivered to the President of
the United States, to all members | 18 | | of the United States
Senate, all members of the United States | 19 | | House of
Representatives, all members of the Illinois General
| 20 | | Assembly, and the Governor of the State of Illinois.
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