End police brutality in our communities, and stop aiding and abetting wars in the world.

Peace and Justice Basics

• We need peace officers tasked to protect and serve us all, equally.
• Our foreign policies must respect both the sovereignty of nations, and the human rights of individuals.

Peace and Justice Background and Proposal

The United States is unfortunately a leader in areas that do not increase the health, happiness and safety of people in this country or in the world: we have a very high incarceration rate, and we spend almost as much on the military as the rest of nations in the world combined. The U.S. has retained the death penalty, which virtually all developed countries have long since abolished.

Domestically, we will all be safer and more secure when we end police brutality. We propose that we increase democratic community control of law enforcement agencies, including the power to investigate and discipline police actions. Every use of lethal force must require an immediate suspension and thorough investigation. The militarization of police departments must end. Many emergencies now handled by armed police will be better handled by mental health, substance abuse or other professionals.

Internationally, the U.S. must stop acting as the police force of the world; stop supplying weapons of war; and stop the use of so-called sanctions, which are unilateral coercive methods that the UN lists as prohibited weapons of war, not peaceful alternatives to war. Military actions should require not only Congressional Authorization for Use of Military Force, but should be in line with international bodies, and not in defiance of UN resolutions.