Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Amendment IV

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.--Amendment IV, The Constitution of the United States

This hasn't really been violated...yet.  In my opinion, the no-knock raids so popular with police department SWAT teams comes close, but since they always have warrants (even if no one is allowed to see them ahead of time due to the nature of the raid), it doesn't quite cross the line. 

Except in cases of getting the wrong address when kicking in the door and killing the homeowners'/apartment renters' dog, but that's a simple case of human error--and everybody makes mistakes, right?  It's not the fault of the SWAT teams kicking in the door that they can't read a fucking map.  Nor is it their fault when a law-abiding homeowner, mistaking their tactics for a home-invasion robbery, gets filled with lead

Each and every one of us has a God-given right to be safe in our own homes.  Each and every one of us has a Constitutionally-guaranteed right to know that our homes and belongings are safe from officious busy-bodies whose sole job it is to see crime.

Each and every one of us has that right attacked every time some dipshit judge signs a no-knock warrant permitting the police to use Gestapo tactics against those they are sworn to serve and protect, criminals and law abiding alike.  

4 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. The thing about the TSA is that they're not a government entity; rather, like the IRS, they're a private contractor working for the government. It's a thin justification, but as such, they're not doing anything unconstitutional.

      Delete
    2. Can you link that? Not groking it, and both the IRS and TSA sure are passing the "ducks taking and walking" test from where I'm looking.

      Delete
    3. I can't find it, now, but here's the telling detail: federal government agencies aren't allowed to unionize, and both the IRS and the TSA are.

      Delete

Sorry, folks. A hundred plus spam comments in an hour equals moderation on older posts, so until further notice...you're gonna have to wait for your comments to be approved before they show up.