Topeka, Kansas City Council Considers Decriminalizing Domestic Violence To Save Money

[David Sky]

Source: Think Progress

"Faced with their worst budget crises since the Great Depression, states and cities have resorted to increasingly desperate measures to cut costs. State and local governments have laid off teachers, slashed Medicaid funding, and even started unpaving roads and turning off streetlights.
But perhaps the most shocking idea to save money is being debated right now by the City Council of Topeka, Kansas. The city could repeal an ordinance banning domestic violence because some say the cost of prosecuting those cases is just too high:
Last night, in between approving city expenditures and other routine agenda items, the Topeka, Kansas City Council debated one rather controversial one: decriminalizing domestic violence."

................

"Domestic violence is still at epidemic levels in the United States, and too few cases are prosecuted as it is. According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, one in four women will be a victim of domestic violence. And domestic abuse is a crime that damages entire communities, not just women. Witnessing violence between one’s parents is the strongest risk factor of transmitting violent behavior from one generation to the next: boys who witness domestic violence are twice as likely to abuse their own partner when they grow up."

Read more: http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2011/10/06/338461/topeka-kansas-city-council-considers-decriminalizing-domestic-violence-to-save-money/

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What kind of a nation are we becoming? Just another horrible example of how our nation's obsession with protecting the wealthy from taxation is yielding disastrous results no one wants to see happen.

[No Elephants]

1. We've become a nation that desperately needs jobs.

Fewer jobs, more government assistance (unemployment, Medicaid, welfare, etc.) and less revenues from income tax at the same time.

Not a good combination.

And both Parties now seem to be working from the premise that raising taxes on people making a mere %300,000 a year, year in and year out, would be rude. And no one seems to know how to cut a military budget or the budget of any Executive or legislator.

So, I guess it's up to you and me to pick up all the slack.

You first.

[ixion]

2. not to mention ending ridiculous and futile wars of abstraction, E.g. 'drugs' and 'terror'

which would save more money than this proposal, hands down.

I think it's pretty clear there is an agenda here, and it's not being driven by We, the People. It's being driven by the top 1%, who are apparently completely insane.

[No Elephants]

3. The insanity defense is not plausible when what you are doing gets you

exactly what your heart desires. Or, at least, what your priorities are.

If I am not mistaken, that particular form of insanity is referred to as "crazy like a fox."

[ixion]

6. Yeah, I understand your point...

from a common sense/common wisdom perspective, they're nuts. But they're very competent insofar as they have an agenda, and they're going to implement it irregardless of the consequences.

[hue]

15. The agenda's name is ALEC and its totally spelled out.

You are so correct! Domestic violence, any law that suppresses women, domestic rape--which is actually quite common,
would not be a crime. But abortion--even when the life of the Mother is at risk--would be a crime.

[RKP5637]

4. It's clear. TPTB have decided wars and huge profits for the obsessively wealthy

are far more important than a functioning society with a sense of stability and justice.

This is one more example, the handwriting on the wall, of a failing society obsessed with greed and runaway capitalism.

But Gay is a criminal offense in Kansas, Domestic Violence, oh, that's OK, have a good time at it...

What a strange degrading society we have become.

[no_hypocrisy]

5. Better idea: decriminalize prostitution and the bunko squad first before

going after helpless victims of domestic violence. Or raise the penalties for DV.

[elehhhhna]

7. decrim & tax WEED & have money-galore.

[elehhhhna]

8. I'm assuming they also mean dom violence against infants and children...

and yanno, pedos are expensive to prosecute & etc., let's decrim that while we're at it.

W.
T.
F.

[elehhhhna]

9. so they're reverting to Sharia law? Women & children = property, etc.

[CanonRay]

10. What a ridiculously bad idea.

[bluedigger]

11. They really debated that?

I can see being presented with the idea by some gobsmackingly stupid citizen...but they considered it?:wow:

[freedom fighter jh]

12. "Who are you protecting?"

This is one more example of public resources not being available for one of the purposes for which taxes are collected: protecting the people, including the 99%.

Last night I heard a Hispanic author (Grace Flores-Hughes, author of "A Tale of Survival") talk about racism in her childhood. One form of racism was the cops routinely ignoring calls from the Hispanic community. The message, Grace said, was that those people didn't count.

If a town adopts a policy of ignoring calls about domestic violence, that's a sign that those people don't count. If you steal something from someone wealthy or from a bank, I imagine there will be plenty of taxpayer money available to enforce the law.

[FarCenter]

13. Was domestic violence always legal outside the city limits of Topeka?

Or is it against the law in Kansas?

[buckrogers1965]

14. If the police are not going to protect the helpless

why have police at all?

The powerful can hire their own security forces, no need for them to have police at our expense.

More and more the police forces are becoming used to protect the rich and powerful against the rest of us.

[hue]

16. most intimate partner violence (IPV) is not prosecuted.

According to Wikipedia, "According to the Centers for Disease Control, domestic violence is a serious, preventable public health problem. Each year in the United States, 4.8 million women suffer intimate partner related physical assaults and rapes and 2.9 million men are victims of physical assault from their partners" And many cases are never reported because of fear of retaliation.

[RKP5637]

21. Now, apparently, they can all move to Topeka and have a good time of it all, because

the gov. there does not care. It all gets more disgusting each day. Also, why is it that KS is always leading the way with stupidity. The governor, Brownback, thinks people leave because of taxes. Many people leave because of the stupid RW politics in KS. Anytime KS is in the news anymore, it's with stupid SH** like this.

[David Sky]

18. Interesting perspective about the police! But we not only pay them, the police

put their lives on the line for the rich and the poor every day. No, I'm not going to bash police, even though there are some that are rather ignorant among them.

I just want to join forces with those that put their lives on the line each and every day, and let to rich pay for protection of their jewels, banks, stock markets, investment schemes, etc., their mansions, rule any place where the rich people live, shop, recreate, OFF LIMITS to the police we, ( the less than rich), have to pay for.

[buckrogers1965]

19. Good idea

It would work in a lot of areas, just let the police assist in poor areas. Maybe instead of arresting drug dealers in poor neighborhoods they could arrest the rich kids who drive into the poor areas to buy their drugs.

[ZombieHorde]

17. Why not end the war the drugs instead? Is pot really more scary than domestic violence? nt

[Enthusiast]

20. "What kind of a nation are we becoming?"

It's getting ugly. Been ugly now it's getting worse.