# Is the United States a police state? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 13, 2012, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-united-states-a-police-state/643964 "2012-12-13T21:48:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-united-states-a-police-state/643964/61 "2012-12-18T22:43:09Z")
The US federal and state governments have vastly overreached and abused their powers, and our justice system is severely dysfunctional. In general, people in this country are NOT free, especially the poor and minorities who are oppressed. The legislature, law enforcement and various “security” agencies all make up and maintain the machinery that carries out and keeps this oppressive system in place. That said, by the definitions given in this thread and by my own understanding of the word, the US is NOT a police state. It is also still more free and less oppressive than almost any other country on earth and than any other time period, even in our own history. But we need to keep the pressure on, because there is still a lot of work to do. When libertarians on slashdot use the term “police state”, they are mostly referring to the appalling lack of transparency in our government in addition to the massive and systematic spying that “intelligence” agencies perpetrate on our own citizens. Not to mention the minor-in-scale-but-massive-in-consequences imprisonment and torture without trial of suspected terrorists at Gitmo. And in those respects only, the US is disturbingly similar to both real totalitarian regimes like Stalin’s, and fictional oppressors like Big Brother. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2012, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-united-states-a-police-state/643964/62 "2012-12-19T02:43:37Z")
> [@Scotty Mo](#): > > I’ve heard some right wing blowhards say, “We haven’t had to throw over any tyrannical governments yet. So obviously the 2nd amendment is working.” > > What is your response to that? “Hey, look, a talking plant!” ---
**Author:** ![panaccione](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/94ad74/32.png) [@panaccione](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panaccione)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2012, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-united-states-a-police-state/643964/63 "2012-12-19T06:01:29Z")
Ok. What do you say about the NDAA and the Patriot Act? ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2012, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-united-states-a-police-state/643964/64 "2012-12-19T06:30:56Z")
> [@WillFarnaby](#): > > Do you have any evidence that “the people” of Iraq were heavily armed? Yes, it’s been fairly well-known. In fact, ironically enough, the US didn’t impose any gun control laws when they occupied Iraq beyond forbidding households from having more than one rifle. [http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/12/world/threats-responses-iraq-sandbags-already-streets-baghdad-city-waiting.html?pagewanted=2&src=pm](http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/12/world/threats-responses-iraq-sandbags-already-streets-baghdad-city-waiting.html?pagewanted=2&src=pm) > [@](#): > > One gauge of that fear is the trade at gun shops. **Most Iraqi households own at least one gun,** so there has been no particular run on armaments. But some gun shop owners report as much as a 50 percent jump in ammunition sales. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-united-states-a-police-state/643964.md?page=3)