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GETTYSBURG If youve visited Gettysburg in recent months, youve likely seen yard signs declaring: This battle was fought because Black Lives Matter."

Some have been stolen over the last few months, said Karl Mattson, the man who had more than 100 of these signs made and distributed. Often, though, hell sit in his yard on the Civil War battlefield and watch as cars slow to read his sign. Sometimes, the drivers get out and take photos.

The signs are in response to what happened here on the Fourth of July, Mattson said, referring to a day dozens of armed people descended on the battlefield in response to rumors of a planned flag-burning. It sparked concerns in the community about the potential for violence, particularly after some were seen harassing a man wearing a Black Lives Matter shirt.

Mattson, a retired Gettysburg College chaplain and founder of the colleges Center for Public Service, is hoping his signs change the narrative in Gettysburg.

Gettysburg is about more than monuments, he said. While its important to recognize the sacrifices made on the battlefield, the Fourth of July episode showed there is also a continued animosity in this country, he said.

My feeling is that this is the nations most sacred place, and it should be a celebration of emancipation and freedom, Mattson said.

After the Fourth of July incident made national news, and perhaps in response to it, Black Lives Matter protests started in Gettysburg and have been occurring most weekends since then.

And while the protests have been small and largely peaceful, some in the community are concerned about the increasing use of foul language.

I get a lot of flak for some of the words that I use. Some people say Im vulgar, and I will say I can be very vulgar, Black Lives Matter demonstrator Leslie Mon-Lashway said. But I feel that if youre more offended by a curse word than you are about people dying by racism, then I dont really have a lot to say about that.

Leslie Mon-Lashway.October 5, 2020.Dan Gleiter | dgleiter@pennlive.com

The protests she leads have been occurring in Lincoln Square, near the David Wills House, where the U.S. president whose name now graces the square stayed during his visit 157 years ago.

Lately, counter-demonstrators have started showing up, furthering community concern over the potential for trouble. And on Oct. 3, for the first time since the protests began, Gettysburg police have filed charges against some of the protesters.

Weekly protests in an historic town

Before the Black Lives Matter protests started this summer in Gettysburg, there was another demonstration nearby on the battlefield.

Scores of armed people came to town, saying they were there to guard the battlefield and protect Confederate monuments against rumors of Antifa violence on the Fourth of July.

Many were members of militia groups, many armed and some wearing military-like gear. Images showed some carrying Confederate flags.

They were drawn by social media reports that anti-Fascist groups planned to burn flags at Gettysburg National Cemetery, and rumors that violence would follow. These reports were later determined to be an Internet hoax, according to the Washington Post.

But when a man wearing a Black Lives Matter t-shirt later identified as the associate pastor of a Methodist church in Hanover tried to visit the grave of an ancestor in the cemetery, he was surrounded by 50 people who began loudly arguing with him.

Are we in agreement that all lives matter? one man asked the crowd, drawing cheers in response. Officers soon arrived and led the man in the t-shirt away for his own safety, with chants of USA and suggestions to get the [expletive] outta here trailing him.

Many in the community, in addition to Mattson, were shocked by what happened.

I closed up shop early that day, said Timbrel Wallace, owner of Lark, A Modern Marketplace on Lincoln Square. Shoppers avoided town, and families were uncomfortable with the displays of firearms, she said, adding, It was shocking to see in your community.

A week after that, the demonstrations in support of the Black Lives Matter movement started in Gettysburg.

Wallace attended that first Black Lives Matter demonstration, hosted by several community groups and held in the square near her shop. She described it as quiet, respectful and somber, adding it was a good thing for the community to come together to rally behind Black Lives Matter.

We believe in equality, and those are some of the values we hold in this community, she said.

Though Black Lives Matter demonstrations in Lincoln Square occurred most weeks after that, as time went on, fewer and fewer people showed up. The movement in Gettysburg seemed to be fading, said Mon-Lashway, who attended some of those early rallies.

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Scenes from Gettysburg on July 4th

Mon-Lashway said she believed they needed to continue, particularly in Gettysburg, so she stepped up.

Gettysburg is so significant. We literally fought a race war there, Mon-Lashway said.

For her, the movement started when she saw the footage of George Floyds death, a police officer kneeling on his neck as a crowd watched. She was shocked by the brutality, she said, shocked at the crowd just watching, and she realized, it can happen to any of us.

She started protesting with a few friends standing silently at first with signs in the town square of her hometown, nearby Hanover, where a monument stands to the lesser-known battle fought the day before the start of the Gettysburg campaign.

When she moved her efforts to Gettysburg, she silently held up signs with a few other protesters. But that changed one day, she said, when she displayed a sign with an image of a Confederate flag and a Nazi flag and the words, America doesnt want either of these, proven in two wars.

Thats when a man on a motorcycle yelled an expletive at her, and she yelled back, the Confederacy lost.

The man got off of the motorcycle, she said, got into her face, yelling and spitting, no mask, hitting her sign as she held it up to shield herself, trying to intimidate her and the other demonstrators.

It wasnt the first time she was yelled at. The drivers of passing cars have thrown beverages at her, and shes heard shouts of white power, heil Hitler, and every racial slur imaginable, she said. People have even reenacted the death of Floyd in front of her in the square.

But after that moment and when nothing happened after four people filed a report with police things changed, she said.

Her silence was over.

And thats when people noticed.

Thats what upset them. That I was angry and using curse words, she said. It was that I used a profane word, and it upsets me that thats what sticks. But if thats what does it, thats what does it.

Charges over the weekend

Mon-Lashways demonstrations occur near the shop owned by Wallace, who said she is a supporter of Black Lives Matter and supports everyones right to speak their mind.

Largely, the protests in the square have been positive, Wallace said, and she has not experienced any business disruptions, though she does normally close soon after they typically begin.

She has noticed a change in the tone, though.

The most recent have been a little more concerning for the community at large, she said. There have been two separate groups with different views. I think when those people get together, things get a little contentious. Those situations are probably not good for the community.

She would like to see the negativity toned down, and she does not support the language that has been used. Neither do the police.

The protests are generally not large, Gettysburg police Chief Robert Glenny said. But they have started to become disruptive, he said.

If theyre shouting, Black Lives Matter or say their names or even if theyre shouting hey, hey, ho, ho, these racist cops have got to go, thats protected speech, Glenny said.

As an example, he added that even someone holding a sign containing the f-word, saying something to the extent of if the f-word offends you, why doesnt racism? would be protected speech in that context.

However, when you get to some of the more vulgar language, and its shouted out in, Ill use the term fighting words, or its creating a hazardous or physically offensive condition or there are kids around or diners around trying to eat and these things are shouted and theres no way to legitimize that comment, thats disorderly conduct, Glenny said. And were going to take action on it.

Counter-protesters, who recently started showing up, might be contributing to increased tensions, Glenny said, but they have the right to be there, too.

And on Oct. 3, for the first time, three people were charged.

Glenny said one person was charged with summary harassment. That charge came after a verbal confrontation between protesters and counter-protesters, with one of the BLM protesters knocking the hat off of a counter-demonstrators head, he said.

It may sound petty to some extent, but we cant allow it to go on and escalate, Glenny said.

One person is facing criminal charges of obstruction of justice for driving by without headlights after sunset and shouted vulgar language, Glenny said. That person had to be pulled out of the car to be arrested and was criminally charged, police say. Further details were not immediately available since those charging documents were not yet filed with the district judges office, and police have not released the name.

Mon-Lashway was issued a summary disorderly conduct citation for her language. She disputes the police account of what happened and denies reports that anyone on her side was carrying rifles, saying the counter-protesters have only shown up to intimidate and antagonize.

She said the demonstrator who was charged with harassment only flicked the bill of the hat off a counter-demonstrator who was intimidating a 12-year-old child.

Her own charge of disorderly conduct came after she used profanities, which she admitted to using, but added she was not yelling at the crowd. She was talking to one woman in particular who was shining a light in her face, trying to bait her.

She added the counter-demonstrators were not charged and had never been charged by the police.

Attempts to reach anyone associated with the counter-demonstrators were unsuccessful.

Jenny Dumont, of Gettysburg Rising, formed in 2017, said she is a strong supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement and she supports Mon-Lashways right to protest and her cause. But she has some concerns.

While their intentions are in the right place, theyre new at organizing, and they dont necessarily have the best protocols in place for de-escalating situations and ensuring everyones safety, Dumont said.

She understands Mon-Lashways frustrations when met with counter-demonstrators who might be aggressive, but Dumont said cursing at them and using foul language is not the answer.

She recommends that they take some training in civil disobedience, using those methods like taking a knee or turning their backs -- methods used by Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. That would bring more people to her cause, Dumont said. She said she has spoken to some of the protesters, and they seemed to be receptive.

A new birth of freedom

Over a century ago, Abraham Lincoln famously said in a 272-word speech that Gettysburg is home to a new birth of freedom.

For Mattson, now long retired and living on the battlefield, those words have a particular resonance. He said his sign links the struggles of the past with those occurring today. He hopes his words cut through the politics and noise and elevate the conversation.

Rather than thinking about Gettysburg as a place of conflict or battlefield tactics or sacrifice, it should be thought of as a place that signifies emancipation and freedom for Black people, he said, sitting in his backyard on the battlefield, where flowers now bloom, yards away from the Eternal Light Peace Memorial. Gettysburg should be the place where we think about the struggles of those who endured slavery and those who helped begin the process of freedom.

He still has hope, he said, and his hope is that Gettysburg may be the first step in finding the peace most seem to want.

A place to meditate on where weve come from, he said, and where we need to go.

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In Gettysburg, this summers Black Lives Matter protests have bled into fall and become a war of words - PennLive

The race for top prosecutor in Los Angeles has become one of the most important criminal justice elections in the US this year, with Black Lives Matter activists pushing the contest to the forefront of national debates on racist policing and incarceration.

Jackie Lacey, the first woman and first African American to serve as LA district attorney, is facing a tough challenge from George Gascn, a former San Francisco district attorney who has positioned himself as a progressive candidate dedicated to police accountability and reducing the prison population.

The election comes as nationwide protests over police killings and racial inequality have highlighted the role of district attorneys as some of the most influential and least accountable players in Americas criminal justice system. And the top prosecutor job in LA oversees the countrys largest local prosecutors office, funneling defendants into the worlds largest jail system.

Jackie Lacey

Death penalty: sent 23 people to death rowGang enhancements: supports enhanced sentencing based on alleged gang tiesPolice killings: does not support stricter laws to allow prosecution of officerJuvenile prosecution: transfers children to adult court in select casesIncarceration: opposed reforms to reduce punishments for low-level offenses

George Gascn

Death penalty: opposes, would not send people to death rowGang enhancements: would not pursue enhancements, due to discriminatory databasesPolice killings: lobbied for changes to law, and has pledged to reopen LA casesJuvenile prosecution: would not prosecute children as adultIncarceration: pushed for less harsh punishments, supports reduced incarceration

The race has drawn interest from across the country, with police groups pouring millions into Laceys campaign, and celebrities, tech billionaires and political heavyweights such as Bernie Sanders throwing their support behind Gascn.

Everyone understands whats at stake with the presidential race, but what affects us most on a daily basis is the DA, said Melina Abdullah, co-founder of Black Lives Matter LA. The DA determines what crimes are prosecuted, what crimes go unenforced and whether we will continue to lock up Black and brown people with reckless abandon.

A 63-year-old south LA native, Lacey joined the district attorneys office as deputy in 1986. She wasnt thinking about the power of prosecutors at the time, she told the Guardian, she was just looking for a better job.

During her first year on the job, her father was shot in his front yard in the citys Crenshaw district. He survived, but the case went unsolved and it changed the Lacey family. We became much more aware, much more fearful, she said.

Lacey said the shooting shaped her view on victims rights, and helped motivate her in court as she rose up in the ranks. She was elected in a historic vote in 2012, becoming the first Black woman to take the lead of the agency of 1,000 lawyers.

Lacey quickly faced criticism from south LA residents and a Black Lives Matter movement that was growing in national prominence, and eventually wider backlash from liberal groups who viewed her approach as overly punitive.

They charged she had sent 23 people to death row as prosecutor, more than any other county in the US in recent years. All but one were people of color.

She has also done little to address the high incarceration rates of Angelenos, they noted, with LA locking up more people per capita than the majority of California counties. While she has made some progress on alternatives to incarceration, a recent study suggested that thousands in jail with mental illness could have been given services instead. And most people in jail are Black and brown.

Lacey has scoffed at the idea of broadly scaling back prosecutions: Word gets around with the predators and with the criminal community that you can get away with stuff, and they will flock to your city I want LA not to deteriorate, she told the Guardian.

She also warned about the alleged risks of releasing people convicted of serious offenses, despite research showing that people serving life sentences rarely reoffend if they are granted parole. And she has fought for the right to continue prosecuting children under the age of 12, and to continue trying youth as adults, arguing heinous offenses merit it.

Among Laceys biggest flaws, critics say, has been her failure to rein in police violence, charging just one officer for an on-duty killing in her eight years in office. She declined to prosecute officers who were caught on camera escalating encounters, officers who had fired their weapons at unarmed civilians, and even a case where the LA police chief had publicly called for charges. Officers have killed hundreds of people during her tenure.

For the past three years, activists and family members of victims of police shootings, largely Black and Latino, have protested outside of Laceys downtown office every week.

She really left us no choice, said Abdullah, who organized the first protest in 2017 after Lacey refused to meet with Black Lives Matter LA.

Police go out and murder people who are running away and Jackie Lacey protects them, said Fouzia Almarou. Her son was killed by Gardena police while fleeing in 2018, in a shooting Lacey deemed justified self-defense.

Lacey has repeatedly argued that the law gives officers wide latitude, and that she doesnt want to bring a case she would lose. She told the Guardian she believed existing laws to be appropriate. The truth of the matter is when somebody doesnt want to be arrested and they start fighting, all bets are off, because one of these folks is going to have to take control of the situation, she said.

Many of the activists who have been fighting Lacey have thrown their weight behind her opponent, George Gascn.

Gascn immigrated from Cuba at age 13, and grew up in Cudahy in south LA, where he said he struggled to learn English and eventually dropped out of school. When we saw the sheriffs department as kids, we run the other way, he told the Guardian about his childhood years.

Gascn became a Los Angeles police department patrol officer, was promoted to assistant chief and eventually headed a police department in Arizona and then San Francisco. In 2011, he became the citys first Latino district attorney.

Gascn fought bitter battles with law enforcement groups once he pushed to reduce punishments for low-level offenses and investigated racism in the police department he used to lead.

But like Lacey, he refused to prosecute police shootings, even amid intense public outrage. In 2018, Gascn cleared five officers who were caught on video shooting Mario Woods, a young man who held a knife but did not appear to pose any threat to the officers. I voted for Gascn and Ive lived to regret that, said Gwen Woods, Marios mother. He didnt have a spine to stand up for what was right and he allowed the executioners of my child to get off.

Unlike Lacey, however, the San Francisco district attorney did pursue changes to the law, arguing that it should be easier to prosecute: I was very open about my frustration and saying that the shootings were unnecessary, but under the law at the time, we could not go any further.

He successfully lobbied for a state law that would allow prosecution of officers who kill when force is unnecessary. If the policy had been in place when Woods was killed, he would have filed criminal charges, he told the Guardian: If I have any regrets, its that I didnt campaign sooner to change the law.

Gascn has pledged to reopen some cases of police killings in LA and has campaigned on a number of other major criminal justice reforms.

We can see incarceration and safety are not necessarily synonymous, and the fact that this is becoming more obvious to many, its very, very energizing to me, Gascn said.

He said his office would not fight to keep people in prison when they are up for parole, has pledged not to transfer teens to adult court, wont pursue the death penalty, and has vowed to abandon gang enhancements, which have long been used in racially discriminatory ways.

Gascn has racked up a wide range of endorsements, from LAs mayor, the California governor, vice-presidential candidate Kamala Harris and musician John Legend.

The LA public defenders union, took the rare step of supporting his candidacy because, lawyers said, they viewed Laceys approach as so punitive and regressive that it was worth campaigning for a challenger.

[Lacey] continues the march from slavery to mass incarceration with her policies, said Alisa Blair, a deputy public defender, who volunteered on the Gascn campaigns policy committee. Her entire legacy has been one of very archaic law-and-order punishment.

Myesha Lopez, whose father was killed by LA sheriffs deputies, said she considered a vote for Gascn as a vote against Lacey and that she didnt have confidence in either: The only hope with him is that theres enough public pressure to make him accountable. Either way, Jackie Lacey needs to go.

Abdullah, too, said she was hesitant to personally endorse Gascn, noting that the prosecutors office will remain a part of an unjust system, and the nature of the job means she will be protesting against him if hes elected: He knows that, she said, adding that she did appreciate that he was willing to meet with her and other families of those killed by police.

Asked if she had any regrets about her handling of police killings, Lacey said no, but then later clarified: I do wish I had spent more time with Black Lives Matter LA just trying to figure this out, because I do in my heart of hearts feel were on the same side.

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How Black Lives Matter reshaped the race for Los Angeles top prosecutor - The Guardian

U.S. SenateJohn Cornyn (R) vs. MJ Hegar (D)

Hegar supports reforming qualified immunity, which protects police from many civil suits, and creating a national database of police misconduct. During a June debate, her runoff opponent, state senator Royce West, suggested that both she and Cornyn were afraid to explicitly say Black Lives Matter. She shot back, We need to vote in leaders that, yes, absolutely acknowledge that Black lives matter. Cornyn receives the seventh-most funding from police-affiliated groups of any U.S. senator. In a June op-ed, he acknowledged the existence of systemic problems in policing and voiced support for the JUSTICE Act, legislation blocked by Democrats, who considered it a half-measure. The bill would have incentivized departments to ban choke holds, use body cameras, and offer de-escalation training.

House District 113: East Dallas, Garland, Mesquite

In 2016 Bowers, then a substitute teacher, attended the Black Lives Matter protest in Dallas during which a shooter opened fire and killed five officers. Elected to the Legislature in 2018, she introduced a measure, which failed in committee, to require more police training on how to interact with homeless Texans. After George Floyds killing, in May, she said she would reintroduce the bill and advocate for funding to train police on how to handle mental-health issues. Its not so much about reforming but reimagining what policing looks like, Bowers said. Her opponent, Douglas, is backed by the Dallas Police Association. He has pledged to file legislation banning knee-on-neck choke holds and requiring de-escalation training.

2nd Congressional District: Harris County

Crenshaw, a former Navy SEAL and freshman congressman, cosponsored the JUSTICE Act, which a Crenshaw spokesperson called the only real chance of making meaningful reforms to address police brutality this year. Hes also blamed unrest on antifa, which he labeled a terrorist organization, and linked a spike in coronavirus cases to BLM rallies. Ladjevardian has called the demonstrations one of the few bright spots we had this year and voiced support for an outright ban on choke holds and for ending qualified immunity.

23rd Congressional District: West Texas

Gonzales is running to replace the retiring Will Hurd, a moderate Republican who marched with BLM protesters. Gonzales has advocated for sensible police reform, including a federal ban on choke holds. Hes tried to paint his opponent, Jones, as a radical who supports abolishing the police. I support law enforcement, he said. Bad cops make the job harder and more dangerous for good cops, who represent the vast majority. Jones, however, says she doesnt want to abolish the police and instead supports policies such as better data collection and a federal standard on the use of force.

10th Congressional District: Austin to Houston

Unlike other Democrats in contested races in red-leaning districts, Siegel, a civil rights attorney in Austin, is making criminal justice reform a focus of his campaign, as he also did in a failed 2018 bid against McCaul. Hes called for demilitarization of the police, an end to qualified immunity, community oversight of police departments, redirecting first-response duties to other agencies, a national registry for use of force complaints, and decriminalization of jaw-walking, loitering, and disturbing the peace. Asked by Texas Monthly whether he supported defunding or reducing funding for police departments, Siegel said, I support major investments in public safety and want to look at effective ways to address violence and support healthy communities. McCaul, the districts Republican incumbent who has served eight terms, supports the JUSTICE Act and says his constituents generally have good relationships with police. He has called Siegel the most radical candidate in the entire country and released an ad portraying him as a Cuban revolutionary.

Twenty-second Congressional District: Fort Bend County

In a virtual town hall on criminal justice reform in June, Kulkarni said that George Floyds death was a flashpoint in a national reckoning on criminal justice reform, and that he had personal experience with over-policing. As a teenager, he was asked to identify someone in a police lineup who he knew had not committed a crime, he said. Kulkarni marched with protesters and attended Floyds Houston funeral. He supports a slate of criminal justice reforms, including ending qualified immunity, banning choke holds, creating a national registry of misconduct, and making lynching a federal crime. His opponent, Fort Bend County sheriff Troy Nehls, has called George Floyds murder a tragedy, but says protests have been hijacked by domestic terrorists and supports deploying the military to reestablish peace.

Twenty-fifth Congressional District: Austin to Fort Worth

In the wake of Floyds killing, Oliver attended BLM protests across her districtin upscale Marble Falls, rural Glen Rose, and East Austin. Following the Austin City Councils vote in August to cut APD funding by $150 million, her opponent, incumbent Roger Williams, accused Democrats of turning Austin into an inner city. She has in turn attacked Williams for his vote against the HEROES Act, a coronavirus relief measure that would have increased funding for first responders, including police. Oliver has urged an end to qualified immunity and programs allowing police departments access to military equipment. She also wants a ban on no-knock warrants and a requirement for officers to wear body cameras.

Seventh Congressional District: Harris County

The only Black Republican up for a congressional seat in Texas, Hunt has condemned both the killing of George Floyd and the looting of businesses by protesters. During the first weekend of protests in Houston in early June, he delivered coffee to police officers. The JUSTICE Act is a step in the right direction, said the helicopter pilot and Iraq War veteran, who was endorsed by the Texas Fraternal Order of Police in September. Legislation like Senator Scotts will clarify incidences of inappropriate, brutal or illegal behavior, and enable officers to more effectively do their jobs. His opponent, incumbent Lizzie Fletcher, cosponsored the Congressional Black Caucuss police reform bill, which goes further than the JUSTICE Act by also reforming qualified immunity, granting funding for district attorneys to investigate police departments, and strengthening the subpoena powers of the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.

A version of this article originally appeared in the November 2020 issue of Texas Monthlywith the headline Eight Candidates on Policing and the Black Lives Matter Movement. Subscribe today.

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Sixteen Candidates on Policing and the Black Lives Matter Movement - Texas Monthly

Oregons U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden joined with two other Democratic lawmakers Thursday to urge an independent federal agency investigate allegations that government agencies have been conducting surveillance of recent Black Lives Matter protests.

The letter by Wyden, U.S. Reps. Anna G. Eshoo, D-Calif., and Bobby L. Rush, D-Ill., was sent to the U.S. Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board. The board was created in 2007 to ensure that the federal governments efforts to prevent terrorism are balanced with the need to protect privacy and civil liberties, according to the mission on its website.

They urged the board conduct an inquiry looking into, among other things: the use of a single-engine Cessna Caravan, owned and operated by the U.S. Marshals Service, that flew over Portland on June 13 with a camera that took still pictures of the protest crowd; alleged intelligence reports compiled on journalists covering protests in Portland and the Federal Protective Services' examination of cell phones seized from protesters who were arrested.

In response to Congressional questions, a federal official from the Marshals Service said the plane that flew above Portland in June took photos but the images did not contain personally identifiable information of any kind and didnt include any recorded video or cell site simulators, according to the letter.

The House Intelligence Committee found that the Federal Protective Service has seized cell phones from protesters, although the U.S. Department of Homeland Security appears to have denied the federal agencys request to extract data from the phones, the letter said.

The federal oversight board should investigate the legal authority (Federal Protective Service) used to confiscate protester cell phones with the intent of extracting data, the legislators wrote.

The Washington Post reported at the end of July that the Department of Homeland Security had disseminated intelligence reports to federal law enforcement, summarizing tweets written by a New York Times reporter and the editor in chief of the blog Lawfare, noting they had published leaked unclassified documents about federal operations in Portland. The Homeland Security Department has since ceased the practice, the lawmakers noted in the letter.

The oversight board should hold public hearings to determine whether and to what extent federal agencies have collected or processed personal information of protesters, what legal basis they have for any surveillance and whether those procedures are being followed.

Government surveillance has a chilling effect on the constitutionally protected act of peacefully protesting, the letter said. Because several federal agencies have gathered information about protesters, we ask that (the oversight board) investigate whether these activities infringe on fundamental rights or violate laws.

-- Maxine Bernstein

Email at mbernstein@oregonian.com; 503-221-8212

Follow on Twitter @maxoregonian

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Wyden seeks inquiry into government surveillance of Black Lives Matter protesters - OregonLive

Last month, we asked our readers what issues they wanted to hear the candidates running for office address ahead of Novembers general election. Based on the input we received, we developed a five-item questionnaire for candidates running for the open U.S. Senate seat in Kansas.

Well be publishing the candidates responses to one item per day each day this week. Today were publishing the candidates responses to item #1:

Protests over police treatment of Black Americans have roiled the country since the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May. What changes to law enforcement policy would you support to ensure that Black Americans do not face increased risk of harm or harassment at the hands of police?

People are learning what Black Americans have known and have been saying for decades too often, they simply get different treatment by the police. Its time we all started listening to those experiences and doing something about it. I support funding the police, and also support reforms that would help end inequities in our systems that harm communities of color.

We need to fund community policing programs that strengthen relationships between police officers and the communities they serve. Communication and trust helps prevent crimes before they occur. I support increasing anti-racism and anti-bias training for our police force, banning chokeholds, additional de-escalation training, and increasing transparency among other reforms. Additionally, I would have voted for the Senate bill that would have outlawed lynching by making it a federal crime to conspire to violate existing hate crime laws. As that vote shows, this is not a partisan issue.

We also need to prevent crime before it happens. Thats why, in addition to common sense police reforms, we need to fund early childhood initiatives, increase access to health care including mental health care services, and increase the number of substance abuse centers to ensure that our police can have the capacity to concentrate on protecting our communities from violent offenders.

My dad was the Police Chief in El Dorado for 25 years. Growing up, I saw firsthand just how difficult it is to be a police officer. Im grateful to all of the brave men and women who sacrifice so much to keep us safe. I will always stand with our law enforcement officers who put their lives on the line each day. Im adamantly opposed to any effort to defund the police. That is a dangerous and absurd idea.

The murder of George Floyd was a horrific tragedy that cant be repeated, and I believe the officers involved should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. I condemn all forms of racism; there is no place for hate in our society. We must hold law enforcement accountable when there are problems.

Its imperative that we acknowledge that the overwhelming majority of law enforcement officers are honorable men and women doing their best to protect all members of their communities. Kansas is one of five states that already requires additional training for law enforcement officers every year. We have programs that help hold officers accountable and increase transparency in policing.

I know there is always room for improvement. Thats why I was proud to co-sponsor the JUSTICE Act which would improve the performance of law enforcement, require greater transparency, and hold all law enforcement accountable to increase public trust. I was disappointed when congressional Democrats blocked this bill and refused to debate or offer amendments to the legislation. I remain committed to finding solutions to this problem. Im willing to work with anyone, regardless of party affiliation, to pass common sense legislation that still allows law enforcement officers to do their job, maintains law and order, and increases public trust in the police.

Tomorrow, we will publish the U.S. Senate candidates responses to item #2 on our questionnaire:

By the end of this year, the federal debt will be nearly equal to the size of the entire United States economy. The deficit has been exacerbated in recent years by the 2017 tax cuts and the stimulus package enacted at the start of the pandemic. How big a priority to you is lowering the federal debt? What specific steps would you support to reduce it?

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US Senate candidates on the issues: Responding to Black Lives Matter protests - Shawnee Mission Post