National Review Magazine

One of the most important people in my life is my mom Frances Scott. As a single mother raising 2 boys, she worked grueling hours to put food on the table.

She’d work 2 shifts as a nurse’s assistant. The long hours put her home late at night.

As a little kid, I dreamed of buying her a house with a garage – not as much for the house as for the garage. I wanted her to be able to come home and drive into a place where she was safe. I didn’t want her walking late at night from her car to an apartment building through a parking lot.

That peace of mind is something I want for every American family. Yet it seems like that sense of safety is farther out of reach.

It’s no coincidence that this alarming spike in violence comes on the heels of the Democratic-led campaign to defund police.

To me who grew up in some of the poorest parts of South Carolina, defunding the police is idiotic and immoral. Making poor people live without security is wrong.

Though liberal politicians are trying to distance themselves from the defund movement now, we know the progressives are guiding the Democrats’ agenda. Those the Democrats claim to help in their defund efforts are those most harmed by under-resourced police departments.

Take Minneapolis. Last summer, the Minneapolis City Council voted to reallocate $8 million from the police budget. Faced with limited resources and no support, officers resigned in droves.

As crime spiked, the city’s poor neighborhoods suffered. The 5th Ward – an area of poverty – had a marked increase in homicides, robberies, shootings and stabbings.

The video of Derek Chauvin kneeling on George Floyd’s neck awakened the American people. I knew this was a moment to harness this wave of opportunity.

My team and I worked tirelessly to put together a thoughtful response to the tragic deaths of Walter Scott, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Eric Garner, and too many others e\that were important to Democrats, Republicans and law-enforcement.

Despite that, Senate Democrats blocked my bill from being debated. I offered at least 20 amendments and they still walked out. They wanted the conflict to continue to win the Senate and White House in 2020.

I have not been shy about the police. I’ve been stopped at the Capitol, even as a senator. Like many black men, I recall the humiliation that comes with being pulled over simply for being black.

Yet I’ve had dozens of positive encounters with police. An officer helped me when I was in a dangerous car accident as a teen. I’ve gone door to door with North Charleston police officers to deliver Christmas gifts.

We need more character-driven men and women to come into these high-crime areas. We must allocate more resources so departments can recruit more officers, train them better and create accountability that ensures the bad officers are rooted out. These are things that both sides want. In fact, more than 80% of African Americans have said they want the same level of policing or a higher one.

The South Carolina senator’s essay originally appeared in The National Review.