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So I know we’re all mad at @SimGillDA right now. But last month, he recommended 22 changes to reform law enforcement use of deadly force. And they were great recommendations. #utpol https://www.sltrib.com/news/2020/07/13/salt-lake-county-district/
Yesterday, these proposed changes were presented to Utah's Criminal Code Evaluation Task Force. The task-force is co-chaired by Rep. Paul Ray, a Republican who not only spent some time in the circus, but was also in law enforcement for two years. https://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/2020/08/07/utah-lawmakers-push-back/
I'm sure you can guess how Rep. Ray reacted. He blamed everything on "criminals" and "rioters," basically telling a national movement and peaceful protestors to f*** off. He's also the one who didn't want any type of COVID shutdown, so it's to be expected. https://www.deseret.com/utah/2020/5/5/21248059/coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic-utah-business-legislature-paul-ray-overreact-reopen
The other lawmaker who pushed back against the reforms (at least publicly) is Rep. Eric Hutchings. He criticized protestors as "armchair quarterbacks" when criticizing law enforcement, despite Black Americans facing police violence every day on the streets, not from an armchair.
Rep. Hutchings expressed his concern that if we place too many constraints on police officers, we could endanger them and our communities, despite history showing there aren't enough constraints on police officers since police violence continues to endanger Black communities.
He wondered whether it's "physically and mentally" possible for police to calmly weigh their actions when in danger. This not only ignores every time someone has been killed by police when they weren't in any danger at all, but also makes you think, why do they have guns then???
Despite the show of solidarity from many politicians after the murder of George Floyd, it was only a matter of time before we started to see state lawmakers pushing back on any reform to police culture and behavior. There's a long, hard road ahead of us to enact reform in Utah.
But in only a couple of months, we'll have the opportunity to make some changes that could help make policy reform easier. Eric Hutchings is running for reelection in HD 38, a district that covers Kearns and should be held by a Democrat.
Here's some history for you--Hutchings was a Democrat! In 2001, the Democratic HD 38 representative resigned and @SLCountyDems appointed Hutchings to fill the seat. Only a few months later, Hutchings jumped ship to join the @UtahGOP. https://www.deseret.com/2002/3/8/19641976/kearns-democrat-cheered-jeered-as-he-joins-the-gop
In 2018, Hutchings won his election by only 118 votes. We have to continue protesting & pressuring elected officials, but we also have to remember that ELECTIONS MATTER. Only 118 votes 2 years ago kept Hutchings in office so that he could push back against police reform yesterday
We're only about two months until ballots are mailed out. Volunteer and donate to great candidates like @AshleeUT38, Hutching's Democratic Challenger. The presidential race is important but there are already SO MANY people involved. You can make a huge impact at the state level.
