GUN CONTROL AND POLICE REFORM

Seeing the knee of Derek Chauvid on the neck of Georg Floyd strangling him to death while Floyd is already subdued and handcuffed shows an obvious crime of  murder on the part of the policeman. The other policemen pushing on Floyd's back and not stopping Chauvid makes them complicit in the crime. There is a history of systemic racism in America which shows up in the police with disregard for Black lives. Black men and women fill jails disproportionate to the crimes they commit. Police reform is long overdue. But solving the problem is not just police reform. There are other measures that need to be taken. Most importantly we need gun control. Police at times have to make split second life and death decisions of shoot or not to shoot which can result in wrongful death of the public or death of the police. This is particularly true in poor neighborhoods where crime rates are higher than in well to do neighborhoods. In America we are way behind other first world countries in that regard. We have many more gun deaths than other countries. America is a gun anarchy. The NRA and gun anarchists have taken over our country, making America unsafe for police as well as the public. If guns were taken off the streets the police might be less fast on the trigger. The gun anarchists claim it is their right to own guns. They look upon gun control as an infringement on their freedom. But what about freedom for the rest of us? Are we supposed to be subjected to these bullies who parade around with rifles and automatic weapons slung over their shoulders to intimidate law abiding people? The greedy gun manufacurers behind the NRA value their profits over our lives and freedom. We also need more resources devoted to raising the socio-economic levels among prople who have been traditionally poor. The problem is complex and won't be solved overnight or by one change, but we need to start. Some big starts should be:
1. POLICE REFORM. It is OK for police unions to bargain for wages, but they should not be dicating police policy that protects police actions but are detrimental to the communities that they serve. It has also been suggested that police are often called to solve domestic and psychiatric emergencies that could be better solved by appropriate social services.
2, GUN CONTROL. This is necessary for the protection of the police as well as the public. It won't be an immediate fix, but the beginning of improvement will be relatively quick and over time will remove one of the major causes of wrongful death.
3. SOCIAL IMPROVEMENT. If the economic and educational situation in the poorer communities can be raised, there will be less crime and less need for police reaction.