Katie C. Reilly is a writer and attorney. Her writing primarily focuses on grief, women's health and social justice issues.
Posted on 06/11/2020 4:39:33 AM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer
Tear gas engulfed protesters just steps from the White House last Monday, June 1, forcing peaceful demonstrators to disperse with eyes and throats burning. Many had their hands in the air as they shouted “peaceful protest” through the fog of smoke that covered the street.
As thousands of Americans have taken to the streets to protest George Floyd’s death, they have been met often by heavy police resistance. Sadly, the scene in Washington is not an anomaly. Tear gas has been used against demonstrators in cities large and small across the country.
But while it is known as a “nonlethal” form of crowd control, the gases used to disperse protesters are dangerous and unnecessary.
While police on the streets of U.S. cities have turned it against civilians this summer, the use of tear gas during warfare is prohibited under international law. The Geneva Gas Protocol of 1925 banned “the use of asphyxiating, poisonous or other gases” in warfare but did not specify which gases. The U.S. did not ratify this agreement until 1975 and reserved the right to use it in “situations where civilian casualties can be reduced or avoided,” among other exceptions.
Fortunately, many political leaders now recognize that tear gas should no longer be used. Lawmakers such as state Sen. Kshama Sawant of Seattle, U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Massachusetts state Rep. Mike Connolly and New Orleans Councilman Jay Banks have all spoken out against tear gas; several have proposed legislation against its use on demonstrators.
But simply because police have failed to provide better options doesn’t justify its continued use. Rather, we need to work harder on a national level to find more effective alternatives than the indiscriminate use of chemical weapons against our fellow citizens.
(Excerpt) Read more at nbcnews.com ...
Katie C. Reilly is a writer and attorney. Her writing primarily focuses on grief, women's health and social justice issues.
NBC News Opinion, it's dangerous. Time for a ban.
Katie C. Reilly is a writer and attorney. Her writing primarily focuses on grief, women’s health and social justice issues.
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“Woman’s health”. Code words that tells me this bitch is all-in on infanticide right up thru child birth; and if she is super-woke, then even killing babies who survive a full-term abortion.
She’s right.. ban tear gas and use blinding laser weapons instead.
Fixed it. If Antifa keeps on, the Police might have to revert to traditional methods of crowd control. NBc won’t like it.
It was an unpleasant experience...for all of us.But I'd encourage "Katie" to stick to legal practice and leave scientific issues to the experts because there wasn't a single fatality among us! Just a lot of running noses and burning eyes.
That tear gas is dangerous to crazed leftwing criminal rioters is exactly why it is used, and should continue to be used. If, as we have seen, the leftist rioters turn violent and imminently threaten the lives of the police or other innocent people, then lead bullets should be used to end the threat.
It wasn't tear gas. The Park Service used smoke grenades, which are non-toxic.
The picture of how and why America went wrong — Karen, voter.
The 1910’s were very bad for America.
“Social justice” newspeak for communist.
Time to ban NBC.
Water cannons and bean bag guns.
Why not use firefighting helicopters to dump water on them? Add some dye to I D them for arrest.
Re: state Sen. Kshama Sawant of Seattle
Wrong. Sawant is a mere city council member, not a “state Sen. of Seattle”.
We were on a bike trail in Delaware last weekend. There were two military helicopters with water bags making multiple runs. Didn’t know if they were doing practice runs, dousing an actual fire (didn’t smell any smoke) or maybe a bit of riot training.
Snowflake communist, of course your name is Katie,... 16 people were killed in the riots including 9 black men,whose you don’t think matter, and several peace officers. Get off your high horse and close your textbook, life doesn’t work that way.
I got caught out during a mock chemical attack drill while working at an Israeli air base - never knew a human could produce so much mucus in so little time....
Reasonable people understand that rioting has inherent risks.
No. Its time to put you all on your place.. stop pandering to your demands.. advise to you: go home...and stay there.
Yup,you got it.Every orifice...except one maybe :-).The purpose of the exercise in Army training (the Marines do it too...don’t know about the Navy or Air Force) is to give you confidence in the capabilities of your gas mask.I can’t say I had any more confidence in it afterward than I did before!
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