As protests over the horrific police killing of George Floyd devolved into destructive riots that have claimed the lives of at least 22 people and calls to “defund the police,” one conservative organization is bringing Americans together to express their appreciation for the police and the law and order they provide. ACT for America is organizing 80 rallies in more than 30 states. On July 5, more than 1,000 marched in one of these “Back the Blue” rallies in Wantagh, N.Y., on Long Island.
“People across America are horrified watching the lawlessness spreading throughout the country. Finally, Americans who were never engaged in any type of activism are coming together and rising to stand up in defense of the police and law and order in their community,” Brigitte Gabriel, founder and president of ACT for America, told PJ Media on Friday. “We are witnessing an unprecedented flock of patriots emailing us wanting to organize in their community.”
“As of this interview ACT For America is working on 80 rallies in over 30 states,” she added. “We are a nation of law and order and the American public is finally seeing how the Left is organized to transform America and literally destroy it as it is now. We will never let this happen. Not under our watch.”
ACT for America launched a petition to defend the police, rather than defunding them. The petition rightly condemns the death of George Floyd but notes that this tragedy is not a reason to undermine the police as an institution.
What happened to George Floyd is horrible and should have never happened. The 4 police officers on the scene should be brought to justice and punished accordingly to the law — no exceptions.
However, the recent calls from the left to DEFUND the police would throw our country into chaos!
We should absolutely be looking at policies that can be enacted to prevent any form of police brutality against anyone, but defunding the people who are the first and last line of defense is not the solution.
The radical Left is turning our communities and cities into smoke, ashes and rubble. We need law and order now more than ever and our police need the support of the American people to keep our communities safe.
To send an email to your local elected officials, letting them know you DO NOT support defunding the police, fill out the required fields below and click continue.
Indeed, the rallies and riots against police have had a chilling effect on law enforcement, leading many to effectively go on strike. Violent crime sparked in New York City last month, with a horrific rise in shootings, murders, burglaries, and auto thefts. Yet Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) suggested this violent crime was a reaction to the economic downturn due to coronavirus, rather than an outgrowth of the riots or the calls to defund and abolish police departments.
While many protesters and rioters may believe they are protesting for racial justice, the riots have destroyed black lives, black livelihoods, and black monuments. Most of the 22 Americans who have died in the riots were black. Retired police chief David Dorn was killed by looters breaking into his pawnshop in St. Louis. Chris Beaty was shot while helping two women who were being mugged in Indianapolis. Antonio Mays Jr., a 16-year-old boy, was shot and killed outside the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest (CHOP) in Seattle. Secoriea Taylor — the 8-year-old girl Vernon Jones mentioned — was fatally shot as her mother attempted to park a car near a group of protesters close to the Wendy’s where Rayshard Brooks had been killed by police.
While Americans should support police reform and justice for the four officers involved in the horrific killing of George Floyd, it would be false and reckless to claim the death of George Floyd proves “systemic racism” and a need to defund or abolish the police in the name of racial justice. Yet a broad swath of the left seems to have done just that, and Americans are rallying against this insanity.
Tyler O’Neil is the author of Making Hate Pay: The Corruption of the Southern Poverty Law Center. Follow him on Twitter at @Tyler2ONeil.
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