Says Sen. Kamala Harris "introduced a bill today to forbid a police officers from drawing his/her gun without permission from their supervisor."
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No, Kamala Harris did not push for police officers to ask permission to use their guns
Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., is the latest politician to be accused by social media users of doing something ridiculous that never happened.
A photo shared on Facebook repeats claims from March 2019 that Harris "introduced a bill to forbid a police officer from drawing his/her gun without permission from their supervisor."
The post further says that "a police officer could not return fire without first notifying his/her supervisor and getting permission."
The post has garnered dozens of shares and angry comments about Harris being a "moron" for introducing such a proposal.
A user called this bill "bull----" — and we must agree. No such bill exists. This post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.
"A Second Chance" bill is satire
The original source of this information has been traced by several fact-checkers to a satire site called Blue News Network.
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The article was written by "MiketheCop." His bio states that the pieces he writes for Blue News Networkare "satire and it’s hilarious when people don't know that."
Another giveaway is the website’s About Us page, which assures readers that its content "is most decidedly bull----."
Just to be sure that Harris really didn’t introduce "A Second Chance" legislation (as the website said), we checked the official website of Congress. Among all 184 bills introduced by Harris in 2019, there is no bill introduced in 2019 by that name.
The story keeps resurfacing
The story, originally published by the Blue News Network, has been circulating online without a proper disclaimer since March 12. According to our friends at FactCheck.org, the story has been shared on several blogs and other media, including the "The Ben Ferguson Show," a conservative U.S. radio talk show.
Despite the fact the story was debunked by several fact-checking organizations, it keeps circulating on social media, as well as on a forum and other sites. Without a satire disclaimer, people believe it's real.
Our ruling
The claim that Harris tried to make officers ask permission to fire their weapons lost all of its satirical markings as it traveled across social media. The claim is ridiculous, so we rate it Pants on Fire!
Our Sources
Facebook post, April 17, 2019
Blue News Network, New Bill Would Require Officers to Call Supervisor Before Drawing Weapons, March 12, 2019
Blue News Network, About Blue News Network, accessed April 17, 2019
Snopes.com, Does a New Bill Require Police to Call Supervisor Before Drawing Weapons?, March 13, 2019
LeadStories.com, Fake News: NO New Bill That Would Require Officers to Call Supervisor Before Drawing Weapons, March 13, 2019
FactCheck.org, Satirical Story on Harris Treated as Fact, March 19, 2019
WUSA9.com, VERIFY: Did Kamala Harris sponsor a bill requiring police officers to call their supervisor before drawing a weapon?, March 27, 2019
BPTnews.org, Kamala’s New Bill: Require Cops to Call Supervisor Before Drawing Weapons, March 26, 2019
City-data.com, Kamal Harris New Bill Would Require Officers To Call Supervisor Before Drawing Weapon, March 21,2019
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No, Kamala Harris did not push for police officers to ask permission to use their guns
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