Another green shoot of hope: New bill would ban the use of tear gas against civilians in the U.S.

Tear gas is a chemical weapon, and its use is actually banned in wartime, so why is it legal for police to tear gas peacefully protesting civilians in America? Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) is one of several U.S. lawmakers who doesn't think it should be.

As reported by The Huffington Post:

Police are routinely using a chemical weapon banned in international warfare against peaceful protesters during a pandemic — but a new bill would stop the practice all together.

On Monday, a group of lawmakers introduced a draft of a bill that would ban the use of tear gas by police, after the repeated emergence of videos of law enforcement gassing civilians protesting against racism and police brutality.

The bill, first proposed last week by Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Mark Takano (D-Calif.), and Jesus “Chuy” Garcia (D-Ill.), would pull federal funding from police agencies that continue using tear gas, pepper spray, or other chemical weapons.

It was just days ago that POTUS ordered that peaceful protesters be cleared from Lafayette Square with tear gas, among other things, in order to clear the way for his awkward photo op in front of St, John';s church; under this new bill, that act would no longer be legal in the United States.

Opinion polls give pretty clear indication of why this sort of reform, deemed essentially impossible for years, is suddenly gaining so much traction. As reported by USA Today:

An exclusive USA TODAY/Ipsos Poll finds Americans overwhelmingly endorse the right of peaceful protest outside the White House – a view held by nearly 9 of 10 people across racial and partisan lines. Nearly 9 of 10 heard about the clashes that cleared demonstrators before President Donald Trump walked across the square to stand in front of historic St. John's Church, holding aloft a Bible.

In their wake, Americans by a huge margin, by 22 percentage points, express more trust in the Black Lives Matter movement to promote justice and racial equality than they do in the president of the United States. Former President Barack Obama is more than twice as likely as Trump to be seen as a president who could best handle this moment of civil unrest.

The baby steps do seem to be growing into longer strides, don't they? I ended last week hoping that this week's news would be more hopeful by comparison; so far, this week has not disappointed me.