As a free society, we must draw a line between the military and the police. Only trained military personnel should be allowed to possess military-grade weapons. If police forces must then go through military training to be police officers, we no longer separate military from police. The United States is not, and should never be, a police state. The government should be at all times vigilant against it ever becoming one.
We understand the police must protect themselves, but there has to be a line.
And while we appreciate the fiscal responsibility behind using surplus military gear to supply the police, in practice, these weapons are emboldening police to act beyond their mandate as protectors. Law abiding Americans should not have to live in this much fear of the police.