The gangs in the U.S. should we treat them as terrorist and really go after them hard.?

I'd prefer that to our current war on terror.

The gangs in the US and Canada or any country where Crime becomes a job is created by the community in which it is occuring. If you want to go hard at the gangs you need to start with hitting the government hard for change within your own policies. In the USA there are not enough programs to get people working and paying them a decent living to support a family. When people living below the poverty level are losing income penny for penny against any government subsidy that isn't benefiting anyone, people are burning out and not home with their children and still below poverty level, yet they somehow feel a little better saying they work.

This is a long answer it all boils down to cleaning out racism, classism and poverty.

So my answer is NO you cannot go after the gangs as if they were terrorists. Not yet anyway as long as no one has offered other help.

How much money did your governement spend so far on the war in Iraq and we're talking the funds paid to the private contracts as well.

Now how much money went into social programs for americans?

We do. In California, check out Penal Code 186.20 the "California Street Terrorism Enforcement and Prevention Act." Many of the codes contained in 186.20, which go upwards 186.22, 186.22a, etc., add significant enhancements to sentences of ten years or more to any crime committed while a criminal street gang member or affiliate. The penalties are huge, believe me.

I just did a gang murder case this August in CA. My client was clearly a gang member but the case against him was very weak. It took us a week to select a jury because so many people said the couldn't be fair because my client was a gang member. In other words, gang member = conviction regardless of evidence. It ended up as a hung jury with one juror holding out for not guilty. She wrote the judge a letter, and I got a copy, five pages long talking about how the jury was basically a lynch mob while deliberating. Scary stuff.

Don't get me wrong, I hate gangs, I have no problem with these guys getting locked up for life. But make no mistake, we go after them hard. Do not think for a minute that they "get out" for "good behavior" because they don't. Most don't even get a fair trial, and hey, maybe they don't deserve one.

Lastly, we cannot create a law that makes it illegal to be a gang member. Neo Nazis, Hells Angels, KKK, street gangs are all legal. It is legal to be a member of a group in this country no matter how evil the group seems. You can't arrest people for the clothes they wear, the things they say or the tattoos they have. You can only punish people for being a member of a group and committing a crime "for the benefit of the group."

You might think this is stupid, but think again. Think about McCarthy and how people who peacefully believed in Communism were prosecuted. Once you create a law that punishes for membership alone, you create a precedent for everyone to live in fear.

Yes, the gangs (Bloods, Crips, MS-13, Latin Kings, etc.) are domestic terrorists. Law enforcement is in the trenches battling them every day. I personally think there should be more funding to law enforcement to put an end to the scum. In a perfect world, all of the bangers and cholos would just kill each other off, but they are preying on our youth and recruiting them to keep their numbers up.

I advocate a law that explicitly provides a safe harbor for anyone shooting a gang banger who is spray painting property that does not belong to him. I would also like to see a chemical company invent a chemical that emits a deadly chemical when someone applies spray paint to a structure after say 12 midnight.

I would be all for going after them hard. Gangs shouldn't be tolerated in the U.S. and there should be greater consequences for their actions.

Gangs members are all cowards and terrified of pain, I say bring back the whip.

Definately. We should treat them exactly like we treat terrorists, they are terrorizing our country every day with their drugs, violence, murders, and everything else MTV promotes.

who's going to pay for this increased level of enforcement? also, many gangs in the inner cities out-gun the police, and SWAT units are expensive.

you bet. they are terrorist on our own soil. but most of the time they are killing each other which is the only good thing. they bring violence, drugs nd terror to neighbors.