Today's Question Blog

What do you think of the new guidelines that ban profiling?

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People attend a rally against police violence on Aug. 23, 2014, in the Staten Island borough of New York City.

The Obama administration has released new guidelines for federal law enforcement and  profiling Monday, AP reports.

The policy bans profiling based on religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender and gender identity. New training and data collection will also be required under the new policy.

The guidelines have been in the making for the past five years, but have been released when there is has been large amount of national attention.

"Particularly in light of certain recent incidents we've seen at the local level — and the widespread concerns about trust in the criminal justice process which so many have raised throughout the nation — it's imperative that we take every possible action to institute strong and sound policing practices," said Attorney General Eric Holder, referring to the August shooting by a white police officer of an unarmed black 18-year-old in Ferguson, Missouri, and the chokehold death weeks earlier of a man in New York City.

The American Civil Liberties Union does not approve that security screenings at airports, border checks and local and state police agencies are exempt from this policy.

"It's so loosely drafted that its exceptions risk swallowing any rule and permit some of the worst law enforcement policies and practices that have victimized and alienated American Muslim and other minority communities," said Laura W. Murphy, director of the ACLU's Washington Legislative Office. "This guidance is not an adequate response to the crisis of racial profiling in America."

Today's Question: What do you think of the new guidelines that ban profiling?