This is not what democracy looks like.

Since August 9th, protests rejecting the actions of the Ferguson Police Department following the shooting of an unarmed black teenager have exploded throughout the United States. In response to the protests, state and local police in Ferguson have deployed military-grade weapons and on unarmed protesters including tear gas, automatic rifles, and sound cannons. These weapons are known to cause severe harm and longterm health effects, especially tear gas, a chemical weapon that can cause death, miscarriages, and amputations.

The corruption of the police and their attempts to suppress the press is so egregious that there is an abundance of tweets, livestreams, reports that note events such as reporter Tim Pool having his press badge ripped off by a police officer, police arresting Intercept reporter Ryan Devereaux and shooting him with rubber bullets while his hands were in the air shouting “Press! Press! Press!”, and arrests of numerous other reporters for documenting the police and the protest.

Politicians from both sides of the political spectrum have come out against the militarization of law enforcement in response to these events. With the momentum turning against militarized police, Congress is soon considering a bill called the “Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement” Act that could help stop weapons of war falling into the hands of local and state law enforcement.