San Francisco Lawmaker Proposes 'CAREN Act'

Dear Carens, Karens, or however else you want to spell it; y’all in trouble now.

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A lawmaker is proposing a new act to hold people accountable for discriminatorily targeting people with racist 911 calls. San Francisco Supervisor Shamann Walton introduced an ordinance dubbed the CAREN Act a.k.a. The Caution Against Racially Exploitative Non-Emergencies Act. It will outlaw racially motivated 911 calls and can result in criminal charges against people who attempt to weaponize the police under racial bias.

“Racist 911 calls are unacceptable that’s why I’m introducing the CAREN Act at today’s SF Board of Supervisors meeting. This is the CAREN we need,” wrote the lawmaker on Twitter. “Caution Against Racially Exploitative Non-Emergencies. #CARENact #sanfrancisco”

ABC 7 reports that the ordinance is similar to state Assemblymember Rob Banta’s (D-Oakland) Assembly Bill 1550, which also calls for consequences for those who call 911 based on biases toward race, class, outward appearance and religion.

“If you are afraid of a black family barbecuing in the community park, a man dancing and doing his normal exercise routine in the bike lane, or someone who asks you to comply with dog leash laws in a park, and your immediate response is to call the police, the real problem is with your own personal prejudice,” Bonta said in a statement.

Supervisor Walton expanded on his CAREN act at a Board of Supervisors meeting and said both he and Banta’s measures “are part of a larger nationwide movement to address racial biases and implement consequences for weaponizing emergency resources with racist intentions.”

If passed, the bill would allow the person who was the subject of the call to seek civil remedy through the courts, Natalie Gee, Walton’s chief of staff, told Forbes about CAREN.

It’s clear that some kind of action should be taken as Karens continue to show their a$$es nationwide.

What do YOU think about the proposed CAREN act???