The claim often heard from gun grabbers in their efforts to pass more gun control legislation is that all they’re trying to do is get the “weapons of war off our streets,” but it’s simply untrue that “weapons of war” are available to the general public. You’d last about three minutes in a real war with an AR-15, even with one of the most aggressive builds you can get your hands on. The truth is that the only people with “weapons of war” on America’s streets are, increasingly, the police.

Just as when “all you’ve got is a hammer, then everything looks like a nail” American police are becoming more willing to use their heavy-duty, military-grade hardware when carrying out law enforcement tasks. For example, the number of SWAT raids in the United States grew dramatically from about 3,000 in 1980 to a whopping 50,000 SWAT raids in 2014, according to The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander.

To say that the militarization of the police is nothing new is to ignore America’s recent history. Between 1998 and 2014, the dollar value of military hardware sent to police departments skyrocketed from $9.4 million to $796.8 million. Police militarization is directly tied to prohibition, first of alcohol, then of some drugs. Later, the militarization of local police forces is expanded by the Bush-era War on Terror. Frequently, this militarization is funded by civil asset forfeiture in addition to tax dollars.

The militarization of police is an important topic because it highlights the difference between the peace officer versus the law enforcement officer.