Hi everyone, I'd like to share the following two items with you . . . 1. BLUE LIVES MATTER LEGISLATION - REP'S RESPONSE A couple weeks ago I called my state rep, Terese Berceau, asking her to support Rep. David Steffen's Blue Lives Matter Legislation. She responded (I've attached the letter), and today I countered her letter via email. My reply is below. Never be afraid to contact your elected officials. You have every right to express your thoughts - especially when the stakes are so high. If you know in your heart that something is worth fighting for, take a stand - even if it means you have to stand alone. (Please note that the original email contains hyperlinks to actual data, that are not compatible with Care2.) Rep. Berceau, The following reply is in response to the attached letter. As unsurprised as I am that you won’t support Blue Lives Matter legislation, I’m nonetheless disappointed. At a time when there is so much hatred directed towards police – and I’m not just referring to high-profile cases, either – this bill is indeed more relevant than before. Your argument that Blue Lives Matter legislation would dilute current hate crime legislation appears to be a talking point taken from ACLU. To that I say this: Laws must change as society evolves. Hate crime laws were originally intended to protect racial minorities, but expanded to include sexual orientation and disability as there was a need. Certainly you wouldn’t have opposed a hate crime bill to protect disabled people and those who are gay? So why is protecting a blue group any different? The current environment calls for it. Besides, being a police officer is unlike other occupations – it is indeed more strongly a part of one’s identity than say, being an administrator. Hatred for law enforcement is on the rise, including within our own community. It’s not just the uptick in killings, attempted killings, and physical assaults we need to take issue with, either. There are other consequences associated with not supporting police - Morale is down, fewer qualified applicants are applying to be police officers, and in some communities, law enforcement officers are fearful of doing their jobs. This is a disturbing trend that can have severe repercussions for all of us, as witnessed most recently in Chicago. I put the onus for this mess, by the way, primarily on hyper-liberal media and posturing politicians. At the end of your letter, you added that “there are many unnecessary fatal shootings of unarmed citizens by police.” I didn’t ask specifically about this, but you took the liberty of including it anyway. So let me say counter with the following. We live in a complicated time and place where violence, gun, and gang activity has risen. As a result, law enforcement’s job has become more dangerous and complex. It’s much more complicated than saying someone didn’t have a gun, and therefore the officer had no right to shoot him. There are different variables at play, including that the officer has a split second (no scratch that, a millisecond) to make a life-saving decision. Let’s look at each incident separately and carefully examine the variables, in lieu of relying on media or smartphone cameras. In addition, let’s also take into account the violence perpetrated against innocent victims. I stress the word innocent because I don’t think criminals are victims. I recommend that you attend a Citizen’s Academy sponsored by the police or one of our Midvale Heights neighborhood watch meetings to understand why police need to do what they do. Thank you. -- Paula Fitzsimmons Madison, WI 2. STEVE AS ALDER Sorry in advance for the political message: I mentioned to you in a previous post that my husband, Steve Fitzsimmons is running for alder of District 10. I invite you to visit his website: http://fitzforthefuture.com/ And I really hate to ask {gulp} but if you're moved, please consider donating a few bucks. We want to get our message out to as many homes as possible, and printing costs are not cheap. I may be biased, but I can tell you that if Steve wins, he will be Chief Koval's and Madison PD's biggest supporter. This is precisely the impetus for his running - to support local law enforcement. We're in our 50s and not looking to make a career out of politics, gain power, or travel the cocktail circuit. Frankly, I wasn't crazy about his running at first. I hate politics - the pretenses, phoniness, game playing, jockeying for position, and viciousness drive me absolutely nuts. And I'm still getting used to it. But with the level of disrespect being shown against law enforcement, he just had to run. Since he's chaired the Midvale Heights Neighborhood Watch program, crime has decreased substantially. We're over 600 members strong - and have an excellent relationship with Madison PD. Community policing works. All the best, --Paula Fitzsimmons