Gun bill

Dem pushes Ferguson machine gun bill

By ANNA PALMER and JAKE SHERMAN 

The mayhem in Ferguson, Missouri, will be arriving shortly on Capitol Hill.

Three Democrats, including Judiciary Ranking Member John Conyers of Michigan, called for a hearing into the controversial police tactics in the St. Louis suburbs.

And a House Democrat from Georgia plans to introduce the first piece of legislation responding to the shooting in the suburb of St. Louis that would focus on stopping a program providing machine guns and free military equipment to local law enforcement.

Rep. Hank Johnson sent a “Dear Colleague” letter Thursday morning alerting lawmakers that he is putting forward the Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement Act. The action comes in the wake of a policeman shooting an unarmed black man that has created an increasingly tense relationship between the police and the city’s largely African-American population. The response of local police, including the use of tear gas on protesters, has been criticized as overly aggressive.

“Our main streets should be a place for business, families, and relaxation, not tanks and M16s,” Johnson wrote. “Unfortunately, due to a Department of Defense (DOD) Program that transfers surplus DOD equipment to state and local law enforcement, our local police are quickly beginning to resemble paramilitary forces.”

Further, Johnson said the legislation would “end the free transfers of certain aggressive military equipment to local law enforcement and ensure that all equipment can be accounted for.

Johnson’s legislation is focused on a Pentagon surplus program that has allowed cities across the nation to acquire military equipment. like mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicles.

The Friends Committee on National Legislation and the American Civil Liberties Union endorse the legislation.