Pubdate: Wed, 18 Oct 2006
Source: Billings Gazette, The (MT)
Copyright: 2006 The Billings Gazette
Contact:  http://www.billingsgazette.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/515
Author: Todd Rydquist

BURNS IS WRONG: LAW TAKES AWAY CIVIL RIGHTS

It appears that Sen. Burns has made his opponent's case regarding the 
Patriot Act with his statement that only terrorists, suspected 
terrorists, and affiliates of the mafia and drug kings have lost any rights.

I've heard the "if you haven't done anything, you have nothing to 
fear" argument before, and those using that argument forget that 
civil rights exist to protect the innocent. A false accusation can 
come in many forms, including physical similarity to a suspect, false 
witness or setup, same last name, identity theft, or just being in 
the wrong place at the wrong time. Our civil rights are our defense 
against prosecution for crimes we did not commit.

Additionally, the law of unintended consequences makes this type of 
legislation particularly dangerous. For example, an official with a 
passion for the "war on drugs" could conceivably twist the meaning of 
"affiliation with drug kingpins" to mean anyone who is suspected of 
selling, buying, or using drugs. The key words are "suspected of." 
This may be an extreme scenario; however, many of our laws are 
twisted far beyond their original intent (for example, look up the 
definition of "navigable waters of the U.S.").

Our system is not a perfect one. However, our civil rights are there 
for our protection, and generally do a reasonable job of maintaining 
some semblance of fairness in the legal system.

Todd Rydquist

Billings
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MAP posted-by: Elaine