Turn Out & Testify Tuesday Oct 10 To Keep Weapons Of War Off Our Streets: Statehouse Room B-2, 10am


In Massachusetts, towns like Haverhill, New Bedford and tiny Rehoboth have recently acquired mine-resistant military assault vehicles for just the cost of shipping from the federal government; police in Palmer, MA have acquired a camera reconnaissance system designed to detect minefields; and Boston police deployed stingrays and a drone, all without the community’s review or consent.

We need as many people as possible to turn out and testify Tuesday at 10am at the State House, for the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security’s hearing. Bills up for consideration include a Digital Fourth bill, H. 2503 (https://malegislature.gov/Bills/190/H2503), and an ACLU-sponsored bill, S. 1277 (https://malegislature.gov/Bills/190/S1277). Both our bill and the ACLU’s would require a public hearing and a vote by the elected officials of a Massachusetts town or city before the police acquire or deploy military-style equipment. Our bill would also include surveillance equipment of various kinds, including stingrays and drones; ACLU’s bill covers the state police and law enforcement councils, and ours does not. Both have merit.

With the Trump Administration’s reinstatement of the Pentagon’s controversial 1033 program that has flooded local law enforcement agencies with surplus military equipment, it is more important than ever that Massachusetts take a stand to control to stem the flow of battlefield ordnance into our cities and towns; especially as new research reveals a strong link between 1033 transfers to local law enforcement agencies and increased instances of officer-involved shootings (http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2053168017712885)

Whether you can come or not, please circulate this alert widely to other groups and listservs.
Hearing location: Currently room B-2. You’ll find the hearing room much more easily if you come to the entrance on Bowdoin St., round the side of the State House, not the Hooker Entrance at the front on Beacon Street.
Details of all bills up for consideration: https://malegislature.gov/Events/Hearings/Detail/2767\
For those who use it, we also have a Facebook page up to rally people to come: https://www.facebook.com/events/505668729766313/.

This effort is also supported by:
Black Lives Matter – Boston
Black Lives Matter – Cambridge
Jewish Voices for Peace – Boston
Massachusetts Pirate Party

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