Think the Civil War is Over?
Think again. The city of St. Louis is still fighting a battle that started before President Lincoln said that a "government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."
We're talking about Local Control of the St. Louis Police Department. You were probably unaware that the state has had control of the police department since the civil war. Why? Not because of mismanagement, or corruption—but because St. Louis was on the side of the Union Army and state secessionists feared that the Police Department and its arms and ammunition would be used against the Confederacy. For the last 150 years every policy, every decision, every action was decided by the state of Missouri—not the residents of the City. And look where that has gotten St. Louis—listed as the most dangerous city in America for the second time in the last 5 years.
Only two cities in the entire United States are not permitted to control the police departments they pay for—St. Louis and Kansas City. The citizens of St. Louis do not have a voice in the operation of a department that consumes 36% of the city's entire budget. Have a problem with the police department? Is crime not being responded to in your neighborhood? Elected Officials currently have no power to do anything about it. More so, they can do nothing about the fact their city was ranked the most dangerous in America—creating negative implications for the entire region. If you have a problem, you need to call the Governor. See how long that takes to get a call back about the suspicious behavior on the street corner.
For the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community the question of Local Control comes down to who do you want managing our LGBT Police Officers? The state that has no non-discrimination laws on the books or the city that does? In the city of St. Louis you cannot be fired or harassed for your sexual orientation or gender identity, that is not true for state employees. (Govenor Nixon signed an Executive Order that extends protections to gay and lesbian, but not transgender state employees.) In St. Louis the survivor of a same sex couple can receive death benefits from city pensions, that is not the case with state employees as the widower of fallen state trooper, Dennis Englehard, is painfully finding out. In St. Louis you can file for a domestic partnership, in the state you cannot.
Would you rather have a discrimination decision fall on the side of Mayor Francis Slay, who is firmly on the side of equality rights, or Governor Jay Nixon, who straddles the fence?
It’s time for a change. We need local control of the St. Louis Police, a right that is granted to virtually every other city in America. Local Control means would make the St. Louis safer and more responsive to crime. It means that if you have a problem, you have someone to go too.
It's time to make President Lincoln’s words ring true in St. Louis City, because as it applies to the Police Department we do not have a "government of the people, by the people, for the people", it perished from this city in 1861.
Call your State Representative and State Senator and ask them to support Local Control, to find your elected official click here:
TO TAKE ACTION SIGN THE PETITION FOR A SAFER MISSOURI HERE: http://www.safermissouri.com/show-your-support
BY: MARTIN CASAS
