Big Brother Using DNA to Index Everyone
Even 5 years ago, anyone who wrote about law enforcement collecting DNA on people to track them would have received comments from people saying it was just another conspiracy theory. Is even your DNA not your own?
Feds to collect DNA from every person they arrest
WASHINGTON - The government plans to begin collecting DNA samples from anyone arrested by a federal law enforcement agency — a move intended to prevent violent crime but which also is raising concerns about the privacy of innocent people.
I understand collecting DNA from people who have been convicted of a crime. I understand law enforcement needing the tools to do their job. If you commit a crime and are convicted, not accused, then they should collect your DNA. But not everyone who is arrested is automatically guilty of a crime. Innocent until proven guilty is one of the primary concepts this country was founded on.
So now, if the feds want your DNA, all they have to do is find SOME reason to arrest you. They get your DNA, then they can drop the ridiculous charge they came up with. Too much power given to the police equals the destruction of democracy. Hitler’s power was for the most part gained by giving the gestapo and other police the power to arrest anyone they wanted and detain them as long as they wanted.
Using authority granted by Congress, the government also plans to collect DNA samples from foreigners who are detained, whether they have been charged or not. The DNA would be collected through a cheek swab, Justice Department spokesman Erik Ablin said Wednesday. That would be a departure from current practice, which limits DNA collection to convicted felons.
Expanding the DNA database, known as CODIS, raises civil liberties questions about the potential for misuse of such personal information, such as family ties and genetic conditions.
Ablin said the DNA collection would be subject to the same privacy laws applied to current DNA sampling. That means none of it would be used for identifying genetic traits, diseases or disorders.
For now that is. The government always passes laws like this and initially they contain limits. Then slowly but surely over time they eliminate those limits one by one. Soon insurance companies will be able to get your DNA so they can decide whether or not to insure you.
Stumble it!