One of the
hot topics on the radar currently is the use of drones within the boundaries of
the United States . The use by Law Enforcement is just the next
step from helicopters and fixed wing aircraft surveillance. Law Enforcement agencies have been using
airborne surveillance for decades, checking on illegal crops, following
suspects, monitoring traffic and so on.
Drones will be doing the same thing with the only difference being the
pilot will be sitting at a console on the ground instead of in the pilots’
seat. Yes there are the possibilities of
the Law Enforcement misusing drones, but then again these are the people that
we have elected or hired to carry guns and keep us safe, being normal people
themselves there will always be the chance of the misuse of their powers, it’s
a chance we have chosen to take. Use of
drones by non-Law Enforcement agencies, well that is horse of a completely
different color. Unfortunately it is the
same color our politicians like to wear.
Use of
drones or any type of enhanced surveillance by the FDA, EPA or any other
non-law enforcement alphabet agency is just one more step to the nanny state
our politicians are trying to create.
Increased regulations, increased monitoring, and decreased personal
choices are all stepping stones toward total control of our personal
lives. I for one do not want the loss of
my choices, do you? What intrigues me is
that the ones that you typically find pushing for increased regulations and
increased Government, the ones that benefit the most, are also the ones that
will cry the loudest when their choices, rights, etc… are impeded upon. The real question is not about the use of the
drones, it’s about regulations and their enforcement, it’s about what the Government
is doing and what they have the power to do.
The use of
drones has been argued to be against the Constitution, really, just where in
the Constitution does it say that? If
you answered the 4th Amendment you guessed wrong. The 4th Amendment could actually
be construed to support the use of drones.
The 4th Amendment prevents the Federal Government from
passing any laws that would infringe on “the right of the People to be secure
in their persons, houses, papers and effects against unreasonable searches and
seizures”. Being secure is a far cry
from privacy. Being secure could be used
to justify Law Enforcement use of drones over our homes looking for the bad
guys that threaten our security. The
right to privacy scam has been used to argue against red light cameras and
security cameras in public places; exactly what privacy or security is being
violated if you are in a public place?
OK, you can’t run the red light without getting caught and having to pay
a fine, it’s not as easy to pick a pocket or assault someone on the sidewalk if
there are cameras around, but I’m still not seeing a right to privacy issue or
a 4th Amendment issue. Of
course the alternative would be to hire more Police Officers to sit at every
red light taking down tag numbers of those running red lights and to put on
every city sidewalk to watch us, but that would just turn the argument into one
about jack booted thugs and the Police State we would be living in.
Just to be
clear on my stance about drones, public cameras and our supposed right to
privacy, I’m not a fan of drones and cameras on every corner. I do think it is an invasion of privacy, even
the small amount of privacy we have when we are out in public. What I don’t agree with is that it is a
Constitutional problem. I do believe our
Federal Government is grossly abusing their power with the regulations and the
use of drones to enforce those regulations.
I would like to feel safe and secure in and around my own home, I would
like to believe that I’m not being watched by unseen eyes every time I walk
into my yard, not for illegal or nefarious reasons, it’s simply a matter of
personal choice. Personal choice is
being taken away from the American People with every new regulation and law
that is written, only the American People can change that, if they want
to. I am really starting to wonder if
the People do not want to take personal responsibility, the People, in general,
like the Government making choices for them.
I’m not sure if it’s because of a loss of individuality or if it’s
because they believe the Government has the power to push personal agendas on
everyone else. Americans seem to really
like pushing beliefs on others whether those others want that belief or not.
Steve Avery
6/11/2012
